The Arc Effect
by MadHope
Summary: An accident with a subway leaves several civilians trapped underground, their driver dead and many injured. They only have a limited supply of food and water, and tensions run high between the group. It's impossible to say how long they will be trapped, or if any of them will make it out alive. Meanwhile, outside forces try to find them. Full summary inside.AU.
1. It's a Bad Day

**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE! PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRIES ON TOP OF A RAINBOW! Hey there! Alright, so not my first Bleach story, but I think it'll be one of my best ones... not to sound conceded, haha, but I worked very hard :) Alright, so, there're a couple things to go over... First of all, a proper summary! Because you know, there isn't a lot of space in the things they give us...**

**An accident with a subway leaves several civilians trapped underground, their driver dead and many injured. They only have a limited supply of food and water, and tensions run high between the group. It's impossible to say how long they will be trapped, or if any of them will make it out alive. Meanwhile, outside forces try to find them as soon as worried fathers and brothers realize their loved ones are missing. No one knows if they can make it to them in time, or if they'll perish from starvation, dehydration, or worse-each other.**

**There are a lot of characters in this! Some aren't mentioned in the first chapter and will come later. Well, that's all I really can think of right now, other than I hope you liked it, and reviews and suggestions are always welcome! Anyhow,,,  
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**Enjoy!  
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* * *

The streets buzzed mildly as a tall orange-haired teen made his way through the throngs of people. His height being an advantage, he glanced around for that familiar face, his phone clutched tightly in his hand as he shifted the backpack on his shoulder. The air smelled of cigarette smoke and perfume and body odor, a strange mix that assaulted his nose harshly. It wasn't his first time being here; his dad had brought him here when he was little.

This thought only made him tighten his grip on the shoulder strap of his backpack, his eyes straining for any sense of regularity in the odds and ends of people in the crowd. It was an unusually busy day, he mused, though it might always be like this. When he'd come here as a boy, the first and last time he'd ever come here, it'd been an entirely opposite kind of day, and even different situation.

A vibration ran through his arm from the death grip he had on it, and Ichigo glanced down, letting the screen flash up and words let him focus on something else.

_Waiting for bus. They're here. Where r u?_

Ichigo sighed and would have run a hand through his already unruly hair, but instead tightened his grip, not bothering to respond to the text as he pushed through the crowd, his eyes continuing their search for that one face in the crowd.

* * *

Orihime smiled brightly, her eyes shining slightly with wet tears that she refused to let fall. Her bag was tucked carefully under her arm, the strap digging into the weak point in her neck painfully. She ignored it, though, as again she allowed her brother to pull her into yet another head. Laughing, she held him back, as his body shook with chuckles.

"I'll be back soon, you know," Orihime reassured him, though she herself couldn't deny the twist in her gut, and the sharp ache in her heart, little though it may be, of being away from her brother for so long. Sora pulled away, resting his hands on her shoulders with a comforting smile.

"I know," he said softly, "But are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?" Orihime smiled and shook her head.

"It's hours away, Sora. You know I wouldn't make you spend that much money on gas for me. Besides, I'll see you in a few weeks." Sora nodded, smiling, and gently brought his fingers up to brush against the blue pins clipped in her vibrant mandarin curls, that framed her innocent face so well.

"I know," he said quietly, "I'm just going to miss you." Orihime's smile widened and she wrapped her arms around her brother's hug, pulling him into a hug this time.

"Me too," she murmured into his shirt, taking in his sweet, familiar scent, "I love you, Sora."

"I love you, too." Finally they pulled away, and Sora smiled before offering an arm.

"Here, I'll walk you to your station." Orihime took his arm cheerily, excitement and anticipation running through her body.

* * *

Grimmjow shoved his hands into his pockets, letting the cigarette hang lazily from his mouth. An older woman gave him a slightly scathing look and Grimmjow winked with a leer, which she returned with disgust before hurrying off. Most people gave the tall, electric-blue haired young man a wide berth, not that Grimmjow was complaining.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth to let out a long stream of smoke, curls and wisps disappearing in the air above as he made his way lazily through the crowd. He didn't really care about what time it was, or the fact that he was probably going to be late. Why the hell would he? Didn't really want this damn job anyway.

Grimmjow contained a huff and instead breathed in another long drag, letting it out close to the faces of those who looked disapprovingly at him as they passed. He finally made it to the ticket booth and waited in line, glancing around. When it was his turn, he lazily dug in his pocket and threw a wad of bills on the counter, gaining a glare from the man at the counter, to which he sneered at, before snatching up his ticket and turning.

Grimmjow's eyes scanned the area as he took another long drag of his cigarette. He let it out again and was just about to place the cigarette in his mouth before something—or someone—caught his eye, and he swore loudly. The black hair barely shifted as their head turned and green eyes appraised him. Grimmjow scowled, refraining just barely from crushing the cigarette or stabbing the other guy in the eyes with the lit end of it.

"You've got to be shitting me."

* * *

The short figure slid easily through the crowd, barely anyone noticing she was there. A baseball cap was drawn low over their face, a simple but expensive-looking bag hoisted on their shoulder. The rest of their clothes were relatively dark, with tight jeans hinting at a slight figure and a baggy sweatshirt that hid the rest from the eyes around. Just then something buzzed, and a hand dug into a pocket.

The screen lit up, only a glance caused her to scowl. Rukia shoved the phone back into her pocket, ignoring the text from Byakuya demanding her to come home "this instant." The decision was made; there was no way she was going back. The short teen made it over to the ticket booth, and almost rolled her eyes when asked about where her parents were. A fake smile and flash of ID later, Rukia turned to wait. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone with bright blue hair standing next to someone with dark black hair, the blue haired one smoking and looking extremely irritated. Rukia scoffed quietly and shook her head a bit, moving to the opposite side of the bench, attempting to ignore everything and everyone around her as her mind wondered what exactly the hell she was going to do.

* * *

Finally, he spotted it. The one face in the crowd. As he hurried his pace, a part in the crowd allowed him to see the man with two little girls, and they to spot him.

_"Ichi!"_ Ichigo couldn't contain a smile as he finally forced his way through the crowd and the younger one, who came up a bit passed his bellybutton, leapt into his arms. He laughed and crouched, pulling the girl into his arms.

"Hey, Yuzu." The slightly older one with dark hair avoided looking at him, her arms crossed. Ichigo watched her until, finally, her resolve broke and she met his eyes. He stretched his free arm out to her, and she only hesitated a moment before throwing herself into his arms, though slightly more controlled than her sister had been.

"Hey Karin," he greeted softly, holding his little sisters tightly. The man with dark hair, his dad, smiled a bit as he watched the scene, though his usually warm eyes held something more serious. Ichigo pulled away from his sisters and stood, keeping his eyes trained on his dad. Isshin stepped closer and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Take them to the address I gave you," he said quietly, close enough that he could be heard by only his son through the busy noise of the terminal, "There's an old family friend there that will take care of them." Ichigo nodded, and Isshin's grip tightened on his shoulder.

"This will not be forever," he promised, and it still struck Ichigo how strange it was to see his happy-go-lucky dad so happy, though he knew it was warranted, "Hopefully, it will be sooner than we think." Ichigo nodded again and clapped a hand on his father's shoulder, also. Isshin smiled a bit before pulling away, turning to the two girls that automatically pretending as if they weren't attempting to listen to the conversation.

He bent slowly, wrapping his arms around the girls and pulling them to his chest. Yuzu buried her face in his neck while Karin simply held back, her face stony but eyes watery with tears. Isshin placed a kiss on the top of both of their heads, and pulled back to look at them. Tears had started flowing freely from Yuzu's caramel eyes that matched her hair, and Karin's gray ones were just about ready to let loose some of their own.

"I'll see you two soon, alright?" he started, smiling, "I'll call you every day and every night, and text you throughout the day, and—" The mood lightened as the silly tone came back into his voice and Karin scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"That's a little drastic, don't you think?" Isshin pretended to look hurt.

"Not when it comes to my little girls! Now come on, give your daddy a big kiss—"

"Ugh, dad!" Ichigo and Yuzu laughed as Karin attempted to fight their crazy dad off. Eventually, after sneaking in a kiss on the cheek and earning a thump on the forehead, Isshin straightened and nodded to his son.

"You should get going, your ride should be here by now." Ichigo nodded back, and was brought into a large hug that, on a moment of rarity, he actually returned.

"I'll see you later, Dad," he muttered in his dad's ear.

"I love you.

"I love you too." Isshin pulled away and punched Ichigo hard in the shoulder, to which he yelped in protest.

"Now get going!" Isshin ordered, grinning, "Call me as soon as you get there!" Ichigo shook his head at his dad's antics, but agreed. After exchanging a few more good-byes and a few more tears on Yuzu's side, Ichigo took one of each of his sister's hands and lead them through the crowd, Yuzu and Karin both turning back to wave at their dad before he disappeared in the mingle of the crowd. Yuzu blinked around them, carefully trying to avoid getting whacked with brief cases or bumped into by the oblivious people are them.

"Are we getting on that train now?" her small, worried voice strained to be heard over the crowd, but Ichigo caught it and squeezed her hand lightly.

"In a second," he assured her, "There's someone we're meeting first. He's a friend, so be nice." This last part was appointed to Karin, who simply gave a scowl in response, and they continued moving, Ichigo holding on tightly to his little sister's hands, thankful that he had them with him.

* * *

Renji cursed under his breath, finding himself, as usual, in a pissed off mood. The disgusting smell of body odor and cigarette smoke wasn't helping, even making him a bit sick. Of course, where Ichigo had told him to meet him just happened to be right beside some weird guy with bright ass blue hair that was obviously a chain smoker; he'd been standing here for about thirty minutes and the guy had polished off his first cigarette and moved directly to the next. When he'd asked (politely, of course) for him to stop, the guy'd simply scoffed and returned the question with a nice, "Fuck off."

Now, usually Renji wouldn't stand for this from anyone, even strong, gang-looking type guys like him, but the creepy guy standing beside him was a different story; the red head got shivers down his spine just looking at him, and when those startling, albeit terrifying (though Renji would never admit _that_ even if his life depended on it) emerald eyes landed on him, no expression in them whatsoever, it was enough to turn his blood cold and seal his mouth shut like it'd been glued. Renji glanced down at his phone, checking for a message and getting a blank screen as he had the past half hour, and scowled.

Where the hell was he? Just then something bumped into him, hard, and Renji felt his anger flare.

"Hey!" He turned to berate whoever had bumped into him and found his vision flooded with white hair and turquoise eyes. The boy was a lot shorter than him, almost half his size (admittedly, Renji was pretty tall, but even so, this guy was _short_), and looked up at him blankly, seeming unimpressed. Annoyance pricked Renji in the temple, and he could just feel a growing headache. What the hell was with people with no expressions today? Did they have a creepy convention or something.

"My apologies," the boy muttered in a surprisingly mature voice, and Renji briefly wondered if he was older than he looked before he pulled headphones over his ears and maneuvered around him, moving to stand on the other side of the bench completely. Renji gave an agitated sigh and resisted running a hand over his face. Something told him that this was not going to be his day. The teen turned to scan the crowd, and almost immediately found a shock of bright orange hair above the crowd, and was just short of throwing his hands in the air triumphantly.

_"Finally!"_

* * *

Grimmjow grunted as the long train finally pulled up. He didn't move as the doors opened and people began streaming inside, instead taking a few last precious drags of his cigarette. The guy beside him didn't move, either, and Grimmjow found himself not for the first (or last, he'd bet his lousy savings on that) time cursing him in his head. Grimmjow finally took a long, last drag before taking the remaining cigarette butt from his lips and dropping it, snuffing it with the toe of his boot while he blew the stream of smoke out, curling his lips to aim directly for the face of the guy next to him.

The black haired guy didn't so much as blink, much less try to bat away the smoke like someone normally would before glaring at him and starting to berate him for second-hand smoke and all that crap. The emerald eyes flickered to him, though, and Grimmjow cursed again in his head as he felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. He suppressed this and shoved his hands in his pockets before finally moving towards the doors, irritated as footsteps followed closely behind him.

When he entered the filthy, yellowed stained interior of the train, he glanced around a bit as he automatically made his way to the back. Already sitting near the front was a hot girl with huge… well, assets, playing with a strand of brilliant orange hair. Her brown eyes met his briefly before she blushed and scooted a bit closer to the window uncomfortably. Grimmjow sneered and might have slid in next to her if he didn't have death-on-legs shadowing him.

He continued his way to the back, observing another woman who was breath-takingly beautiful with weird purple hair, dark skin, and dazzling golden eyes. She simply waved a dainty hand at him when she felt his eyes on him and he snorted, not in the least perturbed. Behind her sat a small guy, maybe a year or two younger than him, with dark black hair and nervous-looking dark eyes.

Grimmjow didn't so much as give him a once-over and continued.

Sitting across the narrow aisle was some guy who looked extremely small, his hat drawn over his face so not so much as a bit of skin was showing. Grimmjow snorted a bit as he noticed they all sat as far away from each other as possible. Of course, he mused, I would get the section with all the wacked out introverted freaks. He could have sworn one guy was even sewing—_sewing_—though the large Mexican sitting beside him kept Grimmjow from commenting. He loved picking fights, but he wasn't an idiot.

Further back was a tall teen with a shock of bright ass orange hair, way lighter than the hot chicks, on either side of him smaller girls, probably his sisters, one cuddling a stuffed lion. Across from him was the red-headed asshole from before with the weird ass tattoos on his face. Grimmjow simply sent a sneer and a wink when the guy sent him what he supposed was a threatening glare. Finally, Grimmjow ceased caring about these idiots and took the seat at the very back, thankful that his _company_ chose to sat across the aisle from him instead of trying to sit next to him.

"Bunch of freaks, eh?" Grimmjow muttered, snickering. A delicate eyebrow was raised.

"I believe you are the one with blue hair." A growl came in response, and a sudden urge for more of his cigarettes.

"Shut up, Ciffer."

* * *

Ichigo held tighter onto Yuzu as the subway lurched forward and her hands clung on tighter to his shirt. He smiled down at her and stroked her hair, gaining her attention.

"You alright? You've got Kon?" Yuzu smiled and nodded, bringing up the stuffed lion to show him. She was too old for such things as finding comfort in stuffed animals, but Ichigo and his dad had agreed it was alright on special occasions. After all, despite all she'd been through, Yuzu was still very kid-like. Karin, instead of clinging to him like Yuzu was, simply sat with her legs crossed, head buried deep in a book as she ignored everything around her, as per usual.

It was strangely silent in the subway car; it was the closest one to the driver, at the very front, and no one seemed very talkative; the bus driver didn't even bother to announce when they were taking off or when they'd be arriving. It seemed as if there was some strange spell cast over the car that made everyone turn silent, and so it seemed extremely out of place and loud when Renji leaned and whispered to him.

"That guy better not be getting off the same place as us," he hissed, no doubt talking about the guy he'd only barely was able to mention to Ichigo before said guy boarded.

"Why?" he asked amusedly. Renji had always been the one to pick fights, and the guy he was talking about looked himself like he'd be one to start trouble. His friend scoffed.

"Don't you pay attention? For one, he's an as—" Renji dropped off at the warning look Ichigo sent him, glancing down at Karin, who simply rolled her eyes without looking up from her book, before continuing, "I recognize him. He's part of that gang around here. Don't know where he'd be going, but it sure as hell better not be wherever we're going." Ichigo sent him a scolding look before rolling his eyes.

"How do you know he's in a gang? And where do you recognize him from?" Renji gave an exhasperated sigh.

"Really? Don't you ever watch the news?" he asked, glaring, to which he received a shrug, "He's, like, a legitimate criminal. He's got such a long line of sh—tuff on his records they could make a freaking book." Ichigo snickered at the pathetic save before giving a glance behind him. The guy with blue hair was leaned against the window, chin in his palm with the deadliest look of boredom on his face Ichigo had ever seen. From his weird hair, it was kind of hard to believe a criminal would want to be that reckless, until he remembered; Renji's dad was a cop, so of course he would watch the news all the time.

Ichigo subconsciously tightened his arm around Yuzu, who looked up from her game with a small smile, which he returned, before turning back to it, oblivious. Renji continued to mutter under his breath, and though he knew his friend could overreact sometimes, Ichigo found himself worrying, and hoping that the electric-haired guy wouldn't be getting off at their stop, either. Little did either of them know, that was the least of their worries.

* * *

Rukia's phone was turned off. Throughout the wait for the subway bus, it had been vibrating insistently, and finally she decided to turn it off' it took all she could not to rip the battery out of it and hurl it at a wall. The car she was in was weirdly quiet besides two towards the back that were whispering, though Rukia didn't know or care what they were talking about. Eventually even they quieted, leaving the air awkward and strangely… tense. She glanced around the car, musing in her mind that this had to be the strangest assortment of people she'd ever seen. Rukia ignored this, though, and pulled her hat lower over her face, sinking back into her own problems.

Her brother would be furious. Already was, most likely; Rukia could just picture him in that infuriatingly calm demeanor, handing out orders to men with guns that shivered in their boots at his icy, cutting tone. Not many people could affect others like Byakuya did, and he was the only person Rukia knew that was powerful to get away with it. Rukia held in a sigh, staring out the window. There wasn't much to see; a dirt wall, carved out for them to pass through, unyielding. Rukia was never bothered with enclosed spaces; they didn't affect her at all, but she did feel a strange sense of… uneasiness suddenly come at her. She swatted it away, almost like a persistent fly, and scolded herself. If she let just a bit of nerves from being in a tunnel get to her, how's she expect to survive once she reached where she was going.

Rukia was tempted to rest her head against the window, but decided against it, not wanting to risk falling asleep or letting the hat slip off accidentally and reveal who she really was, though Rukia doubted most of these people would even know who she was.

* * *

It was deadly quiet for the longest time, everyone in the car jumped when the squeal of metal on metal clashed in their ears, causing most of them to flinch. Ichigo exchanged a glance with Renji, who was frowning deeply, and tightened his arm around Yuzu. There was more screeching and suddenly the car lurched, as if trying to stop, and Rukia was thrown forward almost out of her seat.

"What the hell?" A shout came from the back, no doubt by the blue-haired delinquent. His acquaintance was silent, his face seeming no less stoic than before. There was a sudden shuddering and they all clung to the seats and walls, or the nearest person next to them. A huge _ka-thunk!_ Sounded directly behind them and the car tilted back, shuddering again. Panic struck, and Orihime found herself panting shallow breaths, clutching a piece of her hair for dear life as her stomach twisted painfully.

"W-Was that…?" No one knew who had asked the unfinished question, and only a few guessed what the rest of it was. One of the few was the large Mexican, whom his companion immediately moved out of the way for as he stood and moved into the aisle. No one spoke, but many exchanged nervous glances, as he calmly started towards the back, glancing and catching eyes with Ichigo for a brief moment before he came closer to the back door. Grimmjow sneered.

"What the hell are you doing?" His voice betrayed venom instead of panic as the tall Hispanic reached a large, tanned hand out and grabbed the door handle. There were a few voices of protest, Rukia adding in another, "What the hell do you think you're doing?", thankful no one seemed to notice her voice was a bit high amongst the others. The man didn't answer as he pushed the door open carefully, and everyone's breath caught, one person letting out a strangled, surprised yelp. The entire end of the car was gone; the metal that had linked the second car scraped gratingly against the railing, sending sparks like electric sprinklers and screeching painfully in their ears. Cringing came just before another shudder ran throughout the train, more high-pitched squealing as if brakes were being applied but weren't working.

Before the Hispanic found something to hold onto, the car jerked forward and his large body flew out the opening, disappearing in the dark. His friend stood and cried _"Sado!"_ as Grimmjow lurched over and slammed the door shut. They were going unbelievably fast now, and someone shouted for the driver, but no answer. Ichigo was just about to suggest someone going to the front and checking on him when suddenly pattering sounded on the roof. Almost simultaneously, everyone looked up at the metal top of the car.

"What the…?" The question barely got out when the pattering suddenly slammed against the top of the car, dents bursting from the metal as it groaned in protest.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo shouted, no longer bothering to watch his language as he curled his sisters in a deadly grip, though neither of them responded; Yuzu was crying, terrified, and Karin's eyes were narrowed, her jaw shut, not crying yet but damn close to it. Just then a girl in front, one with long orange hair, rose, speaking.

"M-Maybe I should go check on him—"

"No, don't!" A purple-haired woman cried and literally leapt from her seat. This all happened a moment before there was a huge _crunch!_ And the train brutally stopped, the bottom end flying up and throwing all its occupants forward like rag dolls.

Someone slammed into the window, the sound of glass shattering broke their ears, the squealing ripped at their senses seemingly directly beside their ear drums. Ichigo held tightly, _so_ tightly onto his sisters as he felt his body suspended, and saw flashes of people and glass and blood as his back slammed into the ceiling, something biting at his flesh, and he heard Yuzu shriek in his ear as someone else let out a blood-curling scream. No one noticed the pattering on the roof had stopped. The car lay completely still for several minutes, permeated by silence. It was almost completely dark, the lights flickering and dimming. The engine steamed as they lay still, broken. There was no telling who was living, if anyone was. Who was dead, why, how. If thoughts could be read, one might stand out above the others.

This was _definitely_ not a good day.

* * *

**Soo...? *shifts and smiles nervously* Umm... Hope you liked it! Next up: A little more introduction to the characters, some tensions (unexpectedly-we ARE dealing with Grimmjow here XD) and some blood, yes. So, if that makes you queasy... This may not be the story for you :/ But if not, you're good to go! **

**Now, I need you guys to help me out! **

**There are some couples that I have somewhat decided on- yes, there will be romance tossed into the mix-but I haven't completely decided, so if there is any couple/couples you guys want, let me know! Review and tell me, and if I like it enough, I'll go ahead and throw it in there! And who knows, some might change ;) Alrighty then... It is late, so I am going to retire... I really hope you guys liked it! Suggestions are ALWAYS welcome, soooo yeah. Review and stuffs please, bye!**


	2. A Long Beginning

**Hey there, guys! It's three in the morning! :D Alright, so, before I pass out, I'm just gonna tell you a few things. 1) This chapter is a wee bit on the long side... hope you don't mind ^^" I just... started writing, and couldn't quit, haha ^^" But there are so many things going on in this story, that I hope you guys don't mind a few long chapters here and there. I can't promise or tell you how long others will be in the future, it just depends on how the story writes itself. 2) Thank you for all the reviews! They make me happy :) And thanks for the critiquing, I'll definitely take it to heart :) 3) There may be yaoi in this story in the future. I was going to ask if you guys would be ok with that, but realized even then it'd just be a warning. So, if you don't like that, I'm pretty sure it will be minimal so you can simply ignore it, or this story may not be for you.****  
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**Well, this was a longer author's note than I thought it'd be... What is with that lately? Haha. Ahh well. I hope you guys like it! Feel free to review and critique!  
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**Enjoy!  
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* * *

It was dark. His body was aching. There were two limp bodies in his arms. Ichigo's head swam and he blinked away spots as he slowly came back into consciousness. Cold metal pressed against his back, making him realize it stung from some kind of cut. His arms were beginning to go numb from the weight of two bodies—Ichigo jerked up.

Immediately he regretted it and groaned as the blood rushed to his head, but he blinked away the spots hurriedly and turned to his right. _Karin._ Her eyes were closed and still, and Ichigo watched carefully with bated breath. Breathing. Karin's chest rose and fell, letting him know she was simply unconscious.

Bruised a bit, no doubt, he thought as the memories came to mind, but alive. He turned to Yuzu, who had managed to keep a tight grip on Kon, and observed her the same way. Breathing. He let out a sigh of relief, his heart flooding gratefully. Both alive. Both safe, for now. Ichigo carefully pulled his arms from underneath them, both grateful and slightly worried when neither of them shifted.

When he glanced around, he wasn't assured by his surroundings. The metal car was completely still; scraps of metal, glass, and rubble lay scattered everywhere, and dark crimson stained the floor's metal, the thick copper smell causing Ichigo to gag. Carefully he dragged himself up onto his hands and knees and shuffled forward.

Where the hell had he landed? He kept an eye out for his backpack and the red hair that would no doubt only belong to Renji. Ichigo dragged himself along the floor, avoiding glass and hissing occasionally at the sting on his back. He heard a few shuffling sounds, but ignored them, and eventually made it back to what seemed to be his seat, which were the only things that seemed undamaged amongst the chaos they'd been thrown into.

The seat though, unsurprisingly, was empty. Ichigo cursed under his breath as he caught sight of a shock of red hair, hidden unmoving beneath the opposite seat. He pulled himself over and pressed two fingers to his neck below his jaw, breathing a sigh of relief when a pulse pushed back at his fingers.

Renji's breathing was shallow and a gash on his forehead mixed a deeper scarlet with his usual red hair, but other than these and a few bruises, he seemed fine. Ichigo glanced around and sighed; he _really_ needed that damn bag. He thought about going back to his sisters and waking them up, but what would be the good in that if they were injured and he couldn't help them? Just then something slapped against the metal and Ichigo jumped to see his black backpack sitting in front of him. His eyes traveled up to meet those of a brilliant green, though they had no expression, and a chill ran down his spine as he recognized him as the one that'd been with the blue-haired criminal earlier.

"I believe this is what you're looking for." Ichigo examined him for a moment; he seemed unruffled despite everything, until his eyes caught on to a deep red stain in the kid's jacket by his side. Ichigo swallowed and nodded.

"Thanks. You, uh, ok?" The male didn't so much as blink while he answered.

"I am not in top physical condition, though I think it will be fine so long as it is not left unattended for a long period of time." Ichigo blinked and shifted a bit.

"Uh, yeah..." He stopped the offer that almost reached the tip of his tongue and swallowed it back down. _I can help you_. Hopefully they wouldn't be… wherever they were so long that he would need to help anyone.

Just then voices and shuffling came from behind them and they turned. Near the middle of the destroyed car, a white-haired guy was helping up another short teen that was wearing a baseball cap, though Ichigo had no idea how the hell it'd managed to stay on. There were a few groans and clangs as a few others began to gain consciousness, and Ichigo nudged Renji until the red-head swore loudly, and Ichigo caught his arm before he could rub his head.

"You might not want to do that," he advised him, "Wait here." Even as Ichigo was moving away, he could hear Renji try to scramble to get up and shook his head. He made it back over to his sisters just as Karin was shaking Yuzu awake.

"Ichi!" Karin whispered, her eyes widening, and threw her arms around his neck. Ichigo held her back tightly. It was obvious the crash had gotten to her; Karin usually never shared this much affection unless something really, really drastic happened. Yuzu sat up slowly, frowning and holding onto Kon.

"I-Ichi?" her small voice said, and Ichigo pulled her into him as tears started flowing from her eyes so they could stain his shirt.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked softly, pulling away after a minute to examine them. Surprisingly, other than a few scrapes and bruises, they were fine, and Ichigo let out a sigh of relief. Ichigo stood slowly, ignoring the sting still blazing on his back, and slung the backpack onto his shoulder. Renji stumbled next to him, blinking a bit in the dim light, and looked around.

"Looks like hell took a crap here. What the hell happened?" Ichigo shook his head.

"I don't know—"

"H-Help!" The shout interrupted their conversation, the female voice slightly panicked and coming from further up the car. Ichigo immediately started forward, feeling Renji and his sisters close behind him. Further up the car, past a few still unconscious bodies (Yuzu buried her face in Kon, and Karin's eyes went hard) and some just regaining consciousness, on the floor lay two women, who Ichigo immediately recognized as the ones that had been up before the sudden crash.

The orange haired one sat on her knees, tears welling in her brown eyes that begged him pleadingly. Her shirt was torn, she had a large bruise forming on her forehead just above her right eye, and a cut on her leg through her yoga pants, but otherwise seemed fine. The woman she was hovering over, however, was in less great shape.

She lay unconscious, the entire left side of her face bloodied, shards of glass embedded into her ebony skin, and Yuzu gave a strangled yelp before immediately burying her face in Karin's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around her. The woman's left arm was bent at an awkward angle, no doubt broken, and the rest of her was littered in bruises and small cuts.

"I-I just wanted to check on the d-driver," the orange-haired girl started rambling, obviously beginning to panic as Ichigo kneeled beside the other woman, taking in the damage, "B-But she tackled me, and w-we hit the window, a-and I…" The girl shook her head, a few tears escaping down her pretty face. Ichigo examined the unconscious woman, checking for a pulse and taking blood pressure. It was silent as those around him watched.

"W-Will she be ok? C-Can you help her?" the crying teen asked, eyes wide. Ichigo turned to her and gave a small smile.

"I think I can fix most of this. It'll take a while, but I think she'll be alright." The girl let out a relieved sigh, then a hiccup as she laughed.

"I'm Orihime, Orihime Inoue," she greeted, offering a hand. Ichigo took it, surprised a bit at the girl's sudden change of personality, and nodded.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He turned back to the purple-haired woman lying on the floor as Orihime introduced herself to Renji and his sisters and vice-versa. Ichigo dropped his bag off his shoulder and unzipped it, beginning to dig through it as the others watched quietly. After a few moments his hands found what they were looking for and he brought out a plastic box the size of an X-box and set it on the ground. As he began to open and sift through it, a snort came from somewhere behind him.

"Do you always carry around a First-Aid kit?" Ichigo glanced over his shoulder to see the blue-haired delinquent from before smirking at him, though he favored his right ankle and had a bruise on his right cheekbone.

"My dad's a doctor," Ichigo answered shortly, pulling out tweezers before pushing the box aside and drawing nearer to the unconscious woman.

This would sting, he knew, but he didn't want to waste the little bit of numbing shots he had on something small like this, especially when she might just sleep through it. With steady hands, he slowly caught the first piece of glass that was dug in near her cheek bone, and carefully pulled it from the skin.

Luckily it hadn't been that deep, and the woman's face twitched in response, but she remained still. Ichigo set the bloodied piece of glass beside him on the metal floor before quickly moving to the next one.

He felt eyes on him as he worked, and could feel more join them, but tried to push it out of his mind. Once he was sure all of the glass was out, he paused. After a moment Ichigo dug in his bag and brought out a full bottle of water. He opened it and quickly poured some on a piece of cloth, tenderly washing away the extra blood and cleaning the wounds before dabbing them with disinfectant. Placing his tools back and closing the First-Aid kit, he leaned back and glanced at the bruised, protruding bone in her arm.

"She'll need a splint for that," he muttered, more talking to himself than anything else. He turned and noticed almost everyone he'd seen on the bus surrounding him, watching. Ichigo blinked and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm afraid I think that's all I can do, until we get her to a hospital." Grimmjow scoffed.

"You gonna drive her there?" Ichigo was about to respond when there was an earth-shattering scream, causing all of them to jump. Immediately they were rushing out the narrow door, tripping over the steps or simply jumping over them. The air smelled of burned metal and dirt, and it was almost a suffocating hot.

A small, petite girl with short brown hair tied on a bun sat on her knees, her face buried in her hands, while two teen boys stood somewhat behind her, their faces stricken in horror.

Everyone watching turned to see what they had; the front of the train was completely crushed and mutilated, almost the entire front have buried under thick layers of earth. Dirt had piled high enough it had reached the ceiling again, sealing off any possible way out.

A shiver ran through Ichigo's body as a pang of panic hit him, and he automatically curled his large hand around Yuzu's when it slipped into his.

"H-How did this happen?" The question came from a small boy with dark hair and large, worried matching eyes.

"How the fuck are we supposed to know?" the blue-haired guy snapped.

"Hey!" Ichigo started, glaring. The green eyes from before suddenly appeared by the other teen's shoulder.

"Grimmjow." That was all it took. His—Grimmjow's—shoulders tensed, his eyes widening, before he hissed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"It's not my fault the kid asks stupid questions." Said kid blushed and cringed, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"He's just scared, alright? Lay off him," Ichigo snapped. Grimmjow glared at him.

"Who the hell put you in charge, eh?"

"Well, considering he's the only one who can save your sorry ass if you get hurt—not that he will—I'd say he's pretty damn qualified," Renji stepped in. Ichigo sent both of them glowers.

"Will you watch your mouths? There are kids here!"

"What are you, our nanny?"

"Please, Ichigo, your sisters have heard worse before."

"It's not them!" he refrained just barely from shouting, and shot a hand out to point behind them to the side. Both teens turned to see a small girl with short green hair, no older than five, curled up and crying, while another with bubblegum pink hair stood beside her, stroking her hair while she watched them with appraising eyes. This made all of the teens fall silent, and Grimmjow and Renji both turned to Ichigo.

"Look, we might be stuck here—wherever here is—for a while, so we just have to deal with each other until we can figure this thing out."

"So, you're saying it'd be best to stick together?" asked the short white haired kid from before with bright turquoise eyes and a cut over his right eyebrow. Ichigo shrugged.

"Well, yeah. Considering none of us know where we are or what else might be down here, it'd be the best decision." The short boy blinked and nodded somewhere off to Ichigo's right.

"You might want to tell him that." They turned to see a dark haired guy with glasses—Grimmjow recognized him as the guy who'd been _freaking sewing_ before—lugging a brief case and starting off in the opposite direction they all were, where darkness crept and threatened to swallow them, as the only light came from the dimmed ones of the car.

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted, taking a step forward, "Where are you going?" The guy halted and turned his head back.

"To find Sado." Ichigo frowned, and Grimmjow huffed.

"I think that's his big Mexican friend. Ya know, the one that flew out the door?" Ichigo turned back to the other guy, his eyes softening.

"Look, you shouldn't go down there, it's not safe!"

"I'm not going to leave him!" the other shouted back. It was silent for a moment before Ichigo sighed, realizing the guy wouldn't give up.

"Well then… At least take someone with you. Travel in groups or something." It was silent for a moment before a tough-looking girl with short, spiky hair stepped forward.

"I'll go with him," she said nodding at the others before moving over to the guy, and Ichigo heard her introduce herself as 'Tatsuki' and him as 'Uryuu' before they moved on, disappearing into the darkness. Renji shook his head.

"They're gonna get lost."

"The guy's probably already dead," Grimmjow snorted, and went on as the other two gave him glares, "What? The guy flew out of a fuc—" A glance to the smaller kids, the pink one still watching with wide eyes, and disapproving looks from the other two, cause Grimmjow to change his words—"dging train! If ya believe someone can survive that, you're an idiot." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as Renji snickered at his choice of words, earning a glare.

"Well, hopefully it won't hurt for him to at least check. They seemed really close, and after all this, I don't blame him for wanting to try." Subconsciously Ichigo reached out a hand to Yuzu, who took it up, smiling a bit as her tears had subsided.

"Um… sir?" Ichigo turned to see the boy that Grimmjow had snapped at earlier, his eyes looking worried.

"There's… There's some who's hurt pretty bad…" Ichigo nodded and turned to Renji.

"You look out for them, alright?" he asked, motioning to his sisters, "And keep an eye out for the two that left." Renji nodded and agreed, and Ichigo assured his sisters that he'd come back quickly, Yuzu hanging onto his every word and Karin not seeming to be paying attention.

The boy led him back to the car, where Ichigo checked on the dark woman who was still asleep and picked up his medical kit. Somewhere towards the back the boy stopped, and Ichigo's eyes rested on a small form curled in a heavy jacket, baseball cap drawn and an arm gripped tightly over their middle.

Ichigo knelt in front of them and they flinched.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," he assured softly, trying to examine for bruises, though it was difficult to see with all of the clothing, "Where are you hurt? I might be able to help." The boy shook his head furiously, and Ichigo sighed.

"Come on, I want to help you. There's no telling how long we'll be down here, so…" Again they shook their head, and Ichigo glared.

"I'm serious, what's the big deal? Just let me help you!" It was the same response, and Ichigo growled.

"At least take off the hat so I can look at you!" He reached out and, despite the other swatting at him, finally struggled and yanked the hat off. Dark raven locks fell down to the thin shoulders, and large indigo eyes glared at him. Ichigo and the other boy's jaws dropped.

"Oh…" The teen girl, who looked no younger than Ichigo but a lot shorter, snatched the hat away from him. The boy next to him frowned a bit.

"Hey, aren't you…?" A gruff voice from outside interrupted him.

"Hey, ginger! Come fix my ankle!" Ichigo snapped out of it and growled under his breath before digging into his kit. He pulled out a roll of beige cloth and turned to the surprised boy beside him.

"Do you know how you wrap an ankle?" he asked. The younger boy jumped and nodded.

"Y-Yeah, I've done it a few times, I mean…"

"Good," Ichigo said, shoving the cloth into the boy's hand without letting him finish what was probably an explanation why, "Go wrap the damn blueberry's ankle, will ya? That's all I can do for him right now." The boy nodded and started off towards the door, but Ichigo called out to him.

"Hey, kid! What's your name?" The younger boy turned back and smiled a bit.

"Hanataro, sir." Ichigo nodded and smiled a bit.

"Thanks." The boy nodded and even gave a slight bow before disappearing through the door.

* * *

Toshiro stood with his arms crossed, evaluating the situation. The main thought in his mind; Matsumoto was going to have a fit. Since his small promotion, he was ranked above her, but even so Matsumoto seemed to deem it her responsibility to make sure he turned up to work on time and whatnot. Ever since she drove his car into that tree last week, he'd been getting rides from people until finally deciding to take the subway. Of course, this would happen. Toshiro typically didn't believe in things such as fate, but he had a feeling whatever higher power there might be had it out for him.

The doctor had disappeared inside the subway car, leaving the red-haired and blue-haired guys to glare at each other. It seemed to Toshiro, though, that under the emerald-eyed one's watch that the gruff teen wouldn't do anything, even though it was obvious he wanted to punch the other guy in the mouth.

Toshiro watched them, his eyes flickering every so often into the darkness that leered and crept onto the edge of the bus and along the ground. The two that had left had been gone a long time—Toshiro found little doubt that they were or soon would be lost. The blue-haired guy, who he'd heard the stoic one calling Grimmjow, grunted suddenly. He'd settled himself with his back against the car, his legs stretched out, one of them a nasty looking purple color.

"Hey ginger! Come fix my ankle!" he shouted. Renji gave him a glare, but it seemed a stare from the other raven-haired one was all it took to make him stay silent. A moment passed before the short boy from before came from the car, holding some beige cloth in his hand. He approached carefully and Toshiro watched curiously. The boy's dark eyes caught his turquoise ones and he immediately ducked his head, but not before Toshiro saw a tinge of pink.

Grimmjow watched the kid warily as he approached, kneeling in front of the older teen.

"Um, he's busy with someone else right now," he started in a small voice, "But I-I've wrapped a few ankles before, he said that would a-all he could do right now—" Grimmjow scoffed.

"I can wrap my own damn ankle, kid, so hand it over." Surprisingly, the younger teen pulled the cloth back out of his reach, and even Grimmjow's eyebrows shot up.

"I-I'm sorry, but the doctor asked me to do it, a-and you can trust me, really, I've done it a lot—" Grimmjow scoffed.

"First it was a few times, now it's a lot, eh?" The boy went to speak, but halted when Grimmjow held up a hand, "Fine then, just fix the goddamn ankle. And while you're at it, what's your name, kid?"

"Hanataro," he answered, smiling gratefully. Grimmjow simply grunted in response and Hanataro began to roll the cloth carefully and precisely over the bruised skin. Toshiro watched this for a few minutes before he felt something poke his shoulder and turned. A black-haired girl with hard gray eyes stood next to her sister, who was slightly smaller with caramel-colored hair and matching eyes. He automatically recognized them as the doctor's little sisters.

"Hey, are you ok, kid?" Toshiro felt a vein near his eye twitched, and he barely stopped from glaring at her.

"'Kid?'" The girl shrugged.

"Yeah, you're, like, in middle school or something, right?" Toshiro twitched again.

"I'm sixteen." The girl's eyes widened before narrowing considerably.

"You're older than me?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow a bit, as if saying, _No duh._ The girl's sister giggled and reached over to pat Toshiro on the head, whose shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed.

"But you're so short!" Toshiro felt his eye twitch as he heard snickers from the other teens behind him, and fought the heat crawling up his neck.

"So what's your name, anyway?" the black haired one asked after her sister had taken her hand away from Toshiro's hair to hold onto a stuffed lion. Toshiro shrugged and held out a hand.

"Toshiro Hitsugaya." The girl nodded and took his hand in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Karin Kurosaki. This is my sister, Yuzu, and the tall carrot-top is our brother, Ichigo." From behind Toshiro, Grimmjow snorted.

"The guy's even named strawberry?" Grimmjow laughed, and Karin rolled her eyes as Renji snapped back at him.

* * *

Rukia glared evenly at the guy in front of her. After waking up soon after the crash, she'd scrabbled around for her hat as soon as she could. She knew it might not have been her top priority at the time, but up until now, she'd been thankful she'd thought of if.

That white haired guy, Toshiro, had helped her up, and after just a few moments of standing, sharp pain shot through her body. When a scream drew everyone running outside the car, Rukia simply moved towards the back and slid down against the wall, clutching her stomach painfully. Then that small boy, Hanataro, had found her, and promised to get her help despite her attempts at protesting without words.

So here she was, staring down a tall strawberry-head, who also looked like he was unyielding.

"Where are you hurt?" he repeated. Rukia glared at him for a moment longer. He stared back.

"I can take care of myself." He snorted, and Rukia's anger flared.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Just go away!" Rukia snapped. Why the hell wouldn't he listen? "I can take care of myself!"

"Why the hell are you being so stubborn? Just let me fix it!" he yelled back. They glared at each other a moment more before he spoke again, not yelling this time.

"Why are you dressed like a guy, anyway?" The question was basically tossed at her uncaringly, but Rukia's eyes widened and he paused, frowning. She leaned forward suddenly, her eyes narrowing.

"You don't tell anyone about me being a girl and I'll let you do this. Deal?" The guy scoffed a bit.

"Shouldn't you be asking me for help, anyway?" he asked, but grabbed her small hand anyway, "Fine, whatever. Now show me." Huffing a bit, she pulled away and carefully began lifting the jacket and shirt, flinching as the fabric brushed a sensitive part of her skin.

Once it was high above her belly button, she held it just below her chest, trying not to look too much as the amount of scarlet liquid that stained her stomach. Cold fingers brushed her abdomen and her breath hitched, automatically trying to pull away from the freezing hands.

"Hold still." The other leaned in, his face completely serious, and observed the wound. It was almost a complete change from before, and Rukia watched him carefully.

"Looks like you got cut by glass," he muttered, almost to himself, "Hopefully you didn't get any shards in the cut, but we won't know until we wash it. Do you have a water bottle or something?" Rukia automatically reached for her bag when she realized she had no idea where it was. He must have seen it on her face, because the orange-haired teen stood and looked around.

"It's black," Rukia offered, forcing herself not to prod at the wound when his back was turned. After a few moments of searching, he pulled something from the wreckage near the front and held up her bag.

"That's it." She waited while he bent down by the woman still laying at the front, checking her pulse, Rukia guessed, before moving back over to crouch in front of Rukia. She watched the other woman's chest rise and fall before turning back to the guy in front of her.

"Will she be ok?" He sighed, beginning to look through her purse before she snatched it up, pulling out a water bottle and handing it to him before setting the bag aside.

"She should be; it doesn't seem like she sustained that many injuries. I don't know if there's any internal damage, though, and there's not really any way to check. As far as I know she doesn't have any broken ribs, but she'll have to go to the hospital to find out anything else."

Rukia nodded as he unscrewed the lid to her almost full water bottle and pulled out a piece of white cloth from the kit beside him. He tipped the water onto the cloth and set the bottle on the ground, before he froze.

"Shit." Rukia's eyes widened worriedly, though she'd never admit it.

"What?" He shook his head, most likely attempting to reassure her, of what she didn't know.

"I was just thinking… We'll need water. And food. I don't know how many people have supplies like that." Rukia frowned as he examined the wound again, gently dabbing away some of the blood with the warm, wet cloth.

"What, are we trapped down here?"

"It looks like it." His voice betrayed just a hint of worry, and Rukia steadied her breathing, attempting to remain calm.

"Where is everybody else?" The guy shrugged, and sent an apologetic look as she hissed when the cloth found a tender part of her skin.

"Outside. Apparently there was a cave-in of some sort, and that's what caused the crash." Rukia frowned.

"Just all of a sudden? Out of nowhere?" Again he shrugged.

"I guess. Freak accidents happen all the time." It fell silent for a moment as he cleaned the wound gently, Rukia still flinching every now and then. He pulled away and tossed the bloody cloth on the ground carelessly.

"Luckily, it doesn't look deep enough for stitches, but we'll have to bandage it so it stops the bleeding and isn't too open to infections." Rukia nodded and he pulled out a thick roll of more beige cloth, and had her hold the end as he began wrapping it around her stomach. It was extremely awkward at the proximity, seeing as he had to reach completely around her in an awkward hug to wrap the bandage around her back.

"So… what's your name again?" he asked, obviously trying to relieve the awkwardness, but it only increased for Rukia as his hot breath ghosted down her neck. She didn't respond, and he glanced at her before rolling his eyes.

"C'mon, that's a secret, too? Why don't you want anyone to know who you are?"

"That's none of your business," she snapped. He finished tying the bandage, making Rukia flinched as it pressed against her cut, and pulled back to glare at her.

"Oh yeah? Well I just saved your ass, so I figure you owe me something." Rukia scowled.

"You're so arrogant! I didn't ask for your help, if you remember, you forced it on me!" He scoffed.

"You would have died if I didn't!"

"I would have been fine on my own!"

"Yeah right, midget!" Rukia's anger spiked, her eyes blazing.

"I would have been, carrot-top!" He glared at her.

"It's Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki." Rukia blinked before smirking a bit.

"So… Strawberry, then?" He—Ichigo—smirked back.

"It means 'he who protects'." Rukia rolled her eyes, and Ichigo waited expectantly. She growled under her breath.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone and get the hell away from me?" Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't like you too much either, princess." She sent him a glare before hesitating.

"Rukia." Ichigo raised an eyebrow, and then rolled his eyes again as she didn't continue.

"I guess last names don't exist for you. Whatever." He packed his things away and stood, glancing down at her.

"Remember your promise," she called.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it, midget." She glared daggers at him as he walked away towards the entrance.

"I better not have to, strawberry."

* * *

Ichigo growled and jumped out of the car quickly; if the door hadn't been busted open and broken, he would have slammed it shut. Outside—a loose term, of course—the others still milled, at a loss.

The brown haired girl from before was still sobbing into her hands, though no one really offered to comfort her, and the two boys that had been standing next to her were now a bit further away, conversing with each other. One had brown hair that went down to his chin, and the other had black hair and a phone held in his hand.

Ichigo returned to the others to see them exactly where they had been, though Grimmjow was sitting on the ground and Hanataro was just finishing bandaging his foot. Grimmjow gave an appreciative grunt as the smaller teen pulled away.

"Not too bad, kid." Hanataro smiled and blushed in response, bowing his head a bit. Renji had his cell phone in one hand and was chewing on the nails of the other. Once he caught sight that Ichigo was back, he immediately started talking.

"I don't have signal down here. Not even a fuc—freaking bar. They don't either." Ichigo glanced upwards at the earthy ceiling looming above their heads.

"Well, we _are_ underground." Renji shook his head and took a step closer, lowering his voice a bit so Ichigo's sisters didn't hear.

"Don't you know what this means? We can't call anyone for help. No one will even notice we're gone."

"I'm sure someone would miss an entire subway train not showing up on time, much less ever."

"But how long until they figure it out?" Renji urged. Hanataro glanced into the darkness and shifted uneasily.

"W-What do you think happened to the rest of the train, anyway? Why'd it just… come apart like that?" No one answered.

It was extremely quiet besides the other girl's crying, and Ichigo glanced over at where he'd last seen the two toddlers to see that the orange-haired girl from before, Orihime, sat with them, holding the still-wailing green-haired one while talking quietly with the pink-haired one, who seemed to be talking in an actual conversation.

"Someone needs to shut that kid up," Grimmjow muttered, rubbing his head, but everyone ignored him. Instead, Ichigo moved towards the three, Orihime looking up with eyes he could tell were trying not to panic.

"Whose are they?" he asked, motioning to the small girls. Orihime shook her head, frowning.

"W-Well… Yachiru says it's t-the woman in there," she said, the pink-haired one perking up at her name as Orihime motioned towards the car, "B-But they weren't sitting together when they were on the train…" Ichigo kneeled before the standing little girl, the green-haired one not noticing him as she sniveled into Orihime's chest.

"Are you alright?" Ichigo said in what seemed to most as an uncharacteristically soft voice, "Did either of you get hurt?" She shook her head, one index finger inserted worriedly into her mouth. Ichigo smiled a bit.

"Good. Is that your mommy in there?" Surprisingly, she shook her head, and Ichigo and Orihime exchanged confused glances.

"Wha—" Just then there was a small clamor and they turned to see the woman in question step off of the stairs, holding a hand to her head.

"Yori!" Yachiru immediately raced at the woman, colliding with her leg and almost knocking her over. The green-haired one gave a similar cry and wriggled until she broke from Orihime's grasp, tripping slightly over herself as she hurried to join them. Ichigo and Orihime stood as the woman bent down and scooped the smaller girl into her uninjured arm while the other clung to her leg. Her breath-taking golden eyes settled on Ichigo, and he shifted a bit.

"Is everyone ok?" Ichigo glanced around before shrugging; there was no point in lying.

"For the most part, I think. Your face should heal pretty easily, but you'll need to get that arm looked at." She gazed around, taking in her surroundings with surprisingly calmness, before nodding and turning back to him with a small smile.

"I guess I have you to owe for this," she said, turning her face a bit to show the side that was still littered with cuts, "Thank you." Ichigo nodded and the woman turned to Orihime.

"Are you ok?" Orihime jumped and suddenly bowed.

"O-Oh yes, I am, thank you! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know—" A light laugh interrupted her, sounding strange in the tense, serious air that pervaded the space.

"Don't worry about it. I've had worse, trust me. I'm Yoruichi, by the way." Before he could respond, Renji popped up and grabbed his arm.

"Ichigo, I really think you should talk to these guys," he muttered in his ear, glancing over at the sobbing girl still curled up on the ground, "I think they're starting to panic." Ichigo glanced around and ran a hand through his head.

"And what am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know! Look, dude, they're scared, and you're the one who can take charge, I know you." Ichigo hesitated. Did he want to take charge? Did it even matter? The oldest of them seemed to be this Yoruichi woman, but she was injured, and had those two little girls to look after. Finally he sighed.

"Fine, fine. Just… try to get everyone here." Renji nodded and clapped a hand on his back. Ichigo shook his head as his friend walked away before giving a small, right smile to Yoruichi and Orihime.

"Do you guys mind…?" They both agreed and followed him as he moved back towards the destroyed car as Renji rounded up the other people, having them sit or stand against the car. Surprisingly, they gathered without much complaint, and Hanataro helped Rukia off the car, she being now covered, hat and all.

Once they were all settled, Ichigo stood awkwardly before them. They all shifted, watching him or staring somewhere, off in their own minds. The brown haired girl had stopped crying by now, but sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, her face buried in her hands. After getting an encouraging smile from Yuzu, Ichigo took a deep breath.

"Alright, well… I know this is a bad situation—"

"No shit, genius," Grimmjow snorted, and Ichigo along with Renji and Yoruichi sent him dirty looks.

"—but it looks like we might be here for a while, so we've got to deal with each other, alright? I'm sure someone will realize what happened and get us out in no time. Until then, though, we should stick together and use our resources the best we can until then."

"And who put you as leader?" Grimmjow snapped again.

"Considering he's the only one doing something about it, it seems like the best choice, don't you think?" Surprisingly, Toshiro spoke.

"Look, I'm not trying to be your boss or your leader or anything like that," Ichigo cut in, "I just think it's best if we—"

"We're gonna die!" It was the brown haired guy that cried this, burying his face in his hands dramatically.

"Keigo…" the black haired guy next to him groaned. Grimmjow growled and leaned forward, somehow looking intimidating even when injured.

"You think this is the time to joke you little—" The one named Keigo shrieked and ducked behind the black haired boy.

"Mizuiro, save me!" Ichigo sighed and rubbed his temples as yelling broke out, and Grimmjow was halfway to standing and beating the kid's face off before he stepped forward and held out his hands.

"_Hey!"_ Everyone turned to him in surprise, and the arguing died down. Grimmjow muttered something under his breath and slid back down in his seat. Ichigo rubbed his eyes.

This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

**Ha... Told you ^^" But yeah, I really wanted to set the stage and present some possible problems that may arise... You know, it is a diverse group of people, after all ;) So anyway... I hope you like it! I really want this fic to be good, so any critiques or suggestions are completely welcome! :) Some romances may be slow, others quite fast-moving, we'll just see... Coming in the near future: Is Sado ok? People on the outside, Where the hell's my son? Hope you guys liked it! Review and things por favor, byessssssssss!**


	3. Getting To Know You

**Back! Hope you liked the last one, and thanks for all the reviews :) Now, this is where things start getting a bit more in-depth, though it might seem slow. So you have to pay attention! Alright, well this chapter is shorter than the last one, but if I'm right, the next chapter will again be longer sooo... Strap in! and,**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Grimmjow growled under his breath, mindlessly cursing at the stupid strawberry, so he was even more surprised than he usually would have been when Ulquiorra slid down and sat next to him, gingerly seating himself instead of sprawling out like Grimmjow had. Most everyone had spread out into their own corners, some helping that damn Ichigo, others just wallowing in their own sorrow. Grimmjow eyed the other out of the corner of his eye, his gaze alighting over the deep red stain that burned through his side.

"Ya gonna get that looked at?" he asked carelessly, motioning lazily to the stain. Ulquiorra folded his hands neatly and didn't even turn to look at him as he answered.

"I am sure the doctor has more pressing matters to attend to. It will be fine until he has time to look at it." Grimmjow shook his head but knew there was no arguing, so let it drop. It was silent for a while, a silence Grimmjow had become accustomed to with Ulquiorra; it fringed just in between awkward, I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass silence and companionable, I-don't-think-you're-completely-trash silence. This particular silence was leaning toward the former, and Grimmjow sighed.

"What are you doing here, Ciffer?" his voice was low, so that it was only reserved for his and Ulquiorra's ears. Ulquiorra didn't turn to him or give any notion that he had heard, even while he responded.

"He wishes for you to come back. It was foolish to think you could simply leave your duties." Grimmjow scoffed and took a drag of the cigarette he'd lighted earlier, much to the protests of that red-head, Renji, and Ichigo.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who has my head shoved so far up his ass that I can't hear my own thoughts." This moment was when those green eyes turned to him, and Grimmjow tried to shake off his unnerving gaze.

"At least I have thoughts… Trash." Grimmjow growled and glared at him, teal clashing with emerald.

"Yeah, not any that aren't Aizen's," he snarled.

"You should learn to watch your tongue, trash," Ulquiorra snapped back in a clipped tone, "The only reason you are alive is because Lord Aizen—"

"Yeah, yeah, decided to spare my life," Grimmjow waved him away, "I've heard all this shit before. And stop calling him that. Makes you sound like a peasant." Ulquiorra turned away from him, nothing changing in that icy expression, and Grimmjow took another drag.

"I am. I am merely a pawn for Lord Aizen, and he instructed me to bring you back—"

"Well does it look like where going anywhere, emo boy?" Grimmjow snapped, waving an arm at their surroundings, "I don't know if you've noticed, but it doesn't seem like we'll be getting out of here anytime soon." Ulquiorra was silent, and Grimmjow let out a swirl of smoke, watching the wisp of white curl and fade away above into the earth ceiling.

* * *

Karin scrunched her nose in disgust. After Ichigo's little speech, she, Yuzu (along with Kon) and the short guy, Toshiro, had moved to sit on the opposite wall, which was about half a football field away, and she could _still_ smell the stench of the smoke. The blue haired guy was around her brother's age, and not too happy, so Karin grudgingly dealt with it.

Yuzu had her nose buried into Kon's face, and though she'd stopped crying, her honey eyes still held their worry as she glanced around, scooting closer to Karin every now and then. On Karin's other side, Toshiro sat calmly with his wrists hanging off his bent knees, his eyes closed, occasionally opening to observe something or someone before closing them again.

"So… where were you going?" Karin asked lamely, motioning to the car when he opened his eyes and looked at her. Toshiro shrugged.

"Just to work. My friend crashed my car when she was drunk, today's the first day I decided to take the subway." Karin snickered a bit.

"Bad luck." Toshiro sighed.

"Just a bit." It was silent, before he glanced at the two sisters, "What about you guys?" Yuzu and Karin exchanged a glance before Yuzu buried her face again and Karin sighed, shrugging.

"We were going to meet a family friend," she supplied, "Dad's been having some trouble lately, so we were going to stay with them for a few days." It wasn't a complete lie. Even if Toshiro caught onto this, he didn't make a comment; he simply nodded a bit and settled back into silence, not probing more. Karin was thankful why she didn't have to explain anything, or explain why she couldn't explain. Things were too confusing as it was.

Karin watched as, across the expanse of dirt, her brother talked with his friend Renji, and she could see the concentrated worry lines from where she was. The younger teen sighed and didn't reprimand Yuzu when she snuggled closer to her side. Karin knew her brother would do everything he could for the rest of them; that was just the kind of person he was. But after everything that had happened, everything he'd gone through… some things that Karin could never understand… she hoped he wouldn't forget to think about himself every once in a while.

* * *

Ichigo forced himself not to drag a hand through his hair. How the hell had Renji convinced him to do this? Shortly after getting everyone to quiet down and stop yelling at each other, Ichigo persuaded everyone to hand over any food or water they had on them. Most were reluctant, but thankfully did it anyway. Between all of them, which came to a total of about twenty when he counted the three that were missing in action, there were five full water bottles, three bags of chips, a foot-long Subway sandwich (very much squished, but still edible), two health bars, and a baggie of cheerios (courtesy of Yoruichi).

He knew this wouldn't last them long, but hopefully it would last long enough. Renji helped him store the small scraps of resources in the back of the broken car, on the very last seat. Someone would have to monitor it so no one took more than anyone else, Ichigo reasoned, unless they were the younger kids. They would need more than anyone, though they'd still have to do without most of what they'd want.

Ichigo wondered about the two that had left in search of the Hispanic before shaking his head and pushing it out of his mind; he had people here he'd somehow become in charge of taking care of. If they somehow made it back, he'd figure it out then. Until then… he would need to focus on the task at hand.

Rukia chewed on her thumb, clicking mercilessly at her cell phone with her free one, glaring at it. No reception whatsoever. Of course, they'd already been warned of this, and everyone else had stopped trying by now but Rukia continued on in vain, cursing in her mind. There was no way this could be happening. Out of everything that had happened, this was the last thing she needed.

What was the last thing her brother texted her? Oh right, to come back home. Well, there was a slim chance of that now. Rukia shoved her panic away, her mind reeling instead. When they got out, her brother would be merciless, standing there with his icy versions of "I told you so's". He'd be unbearable, rubbing in any chance he could the fact that she'd failed even to simply run away.

Anyone else wouldn't believe that Byakuya was the type to do so, but Rukia knew her brother better than anyone; he would do it in his own way that was unrecognizable to anyone else. Rukia bit her thumb harder, feeling the sting and releasing it a bit before she had the chance to break the skin. Peeking from under the bill of her baseball cap, her eyes flitted over the cave-like area from her position near the broken door of the subway car.

To her right, on the other side, the blue haired guy she'd quickly come to know as Grimmjow still sat propped up against the metal car, his wrapped leg splayed out in front of him with a cigarette on his lips. While it didn't particularly bother Rukia, she knew others were getting annoyed by the smoke, though she wasn't sure if anyone would actually approach the rough-looking teen about it, especially with that rigid black-haired one beside him.

Part of his icy demeanor reminded her of Byakuya, but then again Byakuya never really looked at everyone else like they were… well, _garbage_ unless they gave him a reason to.

"Hey…" Rukia turned in surprise to a tall red-head she'd seen earlier, a girl with an envious body and sweet smile.

"…You want to come sit with me? I mean, I know that's a little weird to ask, but I just… You looked so lonely over here, I thought I'd…" She trailed off with a nervous giggled, running a hand over her hair, and Rukia felt a tug on her lips before nodding. The girl's eyes widened in response before she broke out in a smile and held out a hand.

"I'm Orihime, Orihime Inoue. Nice to meet you!" Rukia simply nodded again and shook the girl's hand. Orihime tilted her head slightly in curiosity before her smile widened and she pulled the smaller girl (though she didn't know it, Rukia thought ruefully) over to where the older woman, Yoruichi, sat with the two little girls from before. Orihime introduced them, leaving it open for Rukia to state her name, but she didn't. The taller girl seemed at a loss, but Yoruichi simply smiled.

"It's nice to meet you." Rukia nodded thankfully and sat across from them. Her eyes glazed over the beaten and bruised arm of the beautiful woman and winced. Yoruichi caught her grimace and smiled a bit.

"Yeah, hurts like a B-I-T-C-H," she told her, and Rukia glanced warily at the small girls, who were none the wiser, "But eh, there's nothing he can do. Not until we get out of here. I can last until then, I think." Rukia didn't answer and Orihime shook her head slightly in wonder.

"It looks so painful, though," she said, her eyebrows furrowing, "Are you sure there isn't something we can do? Maybe Mr. Kurosaki has something that will help with the pain…" Rukia's eyebrow went up at 'Mr. Kurosaki', and Yoruichi waved her good hand airily.

"Nah, it's fine. If he does have some painkiller, I'd rather he use it on someone who really needs it. I'm glad he didn't need it on these two." With that said her unbroken arm tightened around the green-haired girl, who was curled up at her side slobbering on her thumb. The pink haired one sat beside her broken arm, frowning at it but thankfully sensing not to touch it.

"So… they're not yours?" Orihime started carefully, her eyes shining with interest, "They seem to like you a lot." Yoruichi smiled a bit, running her fingers through Nel's hair.

"No, they're not. In fact, I was just on my way to take them to the adoption agency." Rukia's eyes went up at the same moment surprise popped up on Orihime's face.

"Oh, really? Do you work there?" Yoruichi continued smiling.

"I'm a social worker. Their dad just recently died, and their mother died giving birth to them." Orihime's eyes turned somber, and Rukia was silent.

"Oh," Orihime cooed, "That's so sad… But they're related? They don't look a lot alike…"

"Well, the dad was a bit of a dou—" Yoruichi paused, and the three females glanced at the younger two, "…idiot." She corrected before laughing, and Orihime joined in, and again it pierced the silence awkwardly, as if the noise didn't belong there. Yoruichi continued to run her fingers through Nel's hair thoughtfully as she went on.

"He dyed their hair—don't ask me why, I have no clue—and there are rumors that they didn't come from the same mother, but he never had them tested. They were both his, after all, and apparently one mom died, the other out of the picture. Before they're issued into the adoption agency, though, they'll have to have it done."

It was silent, and Rukia watched the strange four curiously. Neither woman seemed to care that she wasn't talking, or that they didn't even know her name. This struck a small alarm of suspicion in the back of her mind, but she pushed it away. Neither could possibly know who she was, and she wondered if they would know even if she took off the hat and showed them. Rukia brushed the thought out of her mind and found herself glancing back at the blue-haired guy, Grimmjow. Even if these two didn't know… there were other people that just might, and that was too much of a risk for her to reveal anything.

* * *

Hanataro glanced around nervously, curling up and trying to make himself as small as possible. He sat with a couple of guys who were talking amongst themselves quietly, not bothered that he was near them. One was bald and named Ikkaku, while the other one, Yumichika, had dark hair down to his chin. They both conversed, their conversation carrying over to Hanataro's ears as he tried to swallow the panic rising in his throat; he figured no one would be too happy if he threw up anywhere in here, especially since there was no telling how long exactly they'd be here. Hanataro tried to push these thoughts away and instead tuned in slightly to the conversation happening beside him.

"… that gang? You don't think he'd do anything down here, do you?" The bald one's eyes narrowed, and Hanataro followed his line of sight to that Grimmjow guy whose foot he'd wrapped earlier.

"I don't know. Better not. Shits like him always piss me off, think they can do whatever they want…" Hanataro blinked.

"U-Um, excuse me…" Both older teens turned to him, and Hanataro swallowed nervously, "But um… what do you mean?" Ikkaku scoffed.

"C'mon kid, ya really that dumb? That blueberry over there's part of the Arrancar. Ya know who that is?" Hanataro shook his head, and Yumichika rolled his eyes disbelievingly.

"Man kid, have ya been livin' under a rock?" Ikkaku asked, leaning forward and lowering his voice slightly, "It's the toughest gang in the area. Only one o' them has ever gotten caught for killin' anyone, but I bet ya anythin', more of them have done worse."

Hanataro's eyes widened and he glanced at the blue-haired smoker who lounged against the car lazily. _That's_ whose ankle he'd wrapped? Who he'd stood up to earlier? He could have shot him! Hanataro groaned and buried his face in his knees, shielding his head with his arms.

"He's gonna kill me!" he whined into his legs. Ikkaku chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, I was surprised by yer guts earlier, kid, but now I just think yer lucky as hell for still havin' 'em."

The two older teens continued talking in hushed voices, leaving the younger one to wallow in his own stupidity. After a few moments Hanataro could have sworn he felt eyes on him and lifted his head.

Glancing around, his eyes scanned the area, searching, searching… Turquoise stared back at him, and Hanataro involuntarily jumped. It was the same white-haired boy from before, who had those calculating eyes, heavy eyebrows, slightly sloped nose… He was just watching, Hanataro realized. Even when he'd been caught, the teen continued to watch Hanataro, as if trying to figure something out. The dark-haired teen felt heat crawl up his neck before wondering if the white-haired boy was even seeing him at all.

_That could be it,_ Hanataro mused, _He's just deep in thought and happens to be looking this direction._ This thought was immediately ushered from his mind once the teen raised one of those heavy eyebrows in question, and the heat came crawling back onto Hanataro's face. Why was he just watching him? And why was he watching back? Hanataro almost gave a leap of surprise when he realized he was staring and immediately tore his eyes away, and he could feel the redness on his cheeks.

He almost clutched his head in his hands, but refrained just in case those eyes were still watching him. He wasn't going to be able to handle this pressure. With thug gangsters most likely plotting his death, those probing eyes watching him, being stuck down here with people he didn't know… Hanataro wasn't sure he'd get out of it alive.

* * *

Ichigo exited the car carefully, observing everyone that had split into small groups, each conversing quietly with each other. Grimmjow hadn't moved from his spot, and his black-haired friend sat next to him in silence. He spotted his sisters against the farthest wall, talking to that short white-haired boy from before, and made a note in his mind to figure out that boy's name before continuing his search.

Finally he found the woman from earlier, Yoruichi, sitting against the wall nursing her injured arm, the two small girls curled up at her sides. Ichigo was mildly surprised to see Rukia (still dressed as a guy) sitting along with her and Orihime, though he'd bet anything she hadn't said anything the entire time.

The tall teen made his way over to him, and all three turned to look at him expectantly. Ichigo squatted and held out his hand to the older woman, in which rested three little pills.

"Here. They should help with the pain," he advised. Yoruichi smiled a bit.

"I'm fine, really," she said, not doing very well this time at hiding a grimace from the pain, "You can use them on someone else." Ichigo took hold of her good hand and placed the pills in it firmly, meeting her golden eyes.

"I have plenty, trust me. Use them," he ordered politely. Yoruichi nodded, still smiling. Ichigo returned it and was about to speak when a shout came from behind him and they all turned. Renji stood near the end of the car, staring into the darkness, and everyone stared into it expectantly. Ichigo rose slowly, and heard the ones behind him doing the same.

Once whatever Renji had spotted came into the partial light, gasps and exclamations of surprise and one retch of disgust could be heard, and Ichigo's stomach churned. He felt something being pressed in his hand in the back of his mind.

"I think you might need these." Yoruichi's voice was simply background noise. His fingers automatically curled around the small pills and his feet, as if on autopilot, suddenly sped forward, and he made it to Renji just in time to here his friend's breathless, disbelieving murmur.

"Well I'll be damned…"

* * *

**Welllllllllll...? Hope you liked it :) Ummm... yeah. Anyway... So now we now a few things... Some people have secrets... What are they? o.O Only I wil know! XD Just kidding :) Anyhoosers... Thank you for the reviews, again, and feel free to review again! Sorry, I'm kinda distracted right now, haha, but I wanted to update because I haven't in a while :) Well... It's only been a week I think... Ahh well. Anyhows,,,,,,, hope you liked it,,,,,,,,, review and stuffs,,,,,,,,,,,, byeeeeeeeeeeeeee!**


	4. On The Outside

**WARNING: Slight language and mild gore  
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**Sooooooooo... Sorry for the kinda late update guys :/ I was kinda disappointed with the last chapter, so I wanted to make this was reallllllllllllyyyyyyyyy good... Turns out it's actually shorter than the last one, hehe ^^" not that size is everything... ;) hehe ... Anyhoosers, so thank you peoples from reviews, especially those who review more than one chapter :) Perhaps in my next update I will mention you by screen name to show my appreciation, but for now, I am tired... and le lazy... and I kinda want to get a head start on writing the next chapter so I don't keep you guys waiting so long next time ;)**

**Anyhows, I know it might seem like a slow start to things, but I promise you, they will all make sense as you go on, and everything will unfurl... :D Anywhoswers,,,, I hope you like it! And,  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Byakuya's footsteps would have echoed throughout the hall as usual if not for the several pairs following hurriedly after him. His pace was quick but calm, his expression stoic as per usual. Inside, though, was whirling with anger and worry. A new pair of hurried footsteps scurried to catch up with him, and Byakuya didn't bother to slow his pace as he turned a sharp corner, those sharp heels finally tripping over themselves to reach him.

"Sir," his assistant, Unohona, started, her long braided dark hair swaying behind her at the pace she had set to keep up with him, "Are you-?"

"Out of every irresponsible thing she has done, this is very high on the list," Byakuya cut with a clipped tone, "But she will see soon enough that she has no choice but to come back. She's simply being foolish." Unohona held in a sigh at her boss.

"Yessir," she answered, glancing at the cell phone in her hand worriedly before immediately looking back up, determined not to fall behind, "But, sir, we've been trying her cell phone for the past hour. She's not responding."

"She most likely has turned her phone off," Byakuya answered seemingly uncaring, though only Unohona knew better, "Check the subways to see which one she is on. If anyone can find her, it is us. Find her and establish some way to contact her. If impossible for some reason, we will take the next train to wherever her destination was and bring her back ourselves."

"Yessir. Oh, and there are also a few missed calls on your cell phone…" She dug into her pocket and produced the sleek black phone, clicking the screen alive and scrolling through the list.

"There was one from Yubisha to talk about the newest deals… Mrs. Kuchiki's mother… an unknown line and… Mr. Urahara's personal line, sir."

"Have they been able to trace the unknown call?" Byakuya clipped immediately.

"Already on it, sir." Byakuya gave a small, sharp on in response as they turned another corner, on their way to the business man's main office.

"Good. Is there any specific reason Mr. Urahara called? He typically doesn't use his personal line when discussing business." Unohona shook her head.

"No, sir. Simply that it was urgent and he wishes for you to call back immediately."

"Very well. Let him know I will contact him soon today from my office, as I have other pressing matters to attend to as well."

"Yessir." Byakuya swiftly reached the large doors whose dark wood stood powerfully and elegantly against the white walls before halting and pivoting to those following him.

"Section one," he began as the others waited patiently, "You will search every subway station and see where Ms. Kuchiki was heading and when. See if there are any available openings for another subway moving in the same direction." These few nodded their understanding and departed.

"Section two, you will assist Mr. Kurotsuchi in his research regarding the latest disappearances of the units from Karakura Town. The rest of you, assist Ms. Unohona in whatever she needs. Unless it is urgent, let no one in the building and tell me who it is and what they want before allowing them inside. Understood?"

There came a choruses of yes's and they all headed off in several directions, Unohona giving a small nod to Byakuya before she disappeared, flanked by a couple men sporting guns.

Byakuya turned to his rooms and stepped in, letting the heavy door close with a soft clunk behind him. His face was calm as per usual as he gracefully crossed to his desk, letting himself glide into his seat, observing that everything on his desk was in order.

A photo that sat in the corner caught his eye; thought he had implored Hisana that it would be useless and only waste space, she had insisted on him keeping it, and Byakuya and Rukia both knew that there was no arguing with the woman once her mind was made up.

The picture was, in fact, of those very two women, who were so alike and so different in many ways. Hisana was grinning at the camera holding an ice cream cone with her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders, and Rukia had a deep scowl and blush on her face as she tried to hide the Chappy plushie Hisana had bought her that same day from the camera's sight.

If Byakuya sighed, he probably would have. Instead, he turned his attention to his desk phone, where messages were flashing. Picking up the receiver, he clicked a few buttons and brought it to his ear.

* * *

Urahara was usually a pretty laid-back person, and in turn he was also typically patient. He'd be lying, though, if he said he wasn't getting just a little bit agitated. That Byakuya owned a phone—several of them, in fact—so why wouldn't he answer one of them? The older man had called him several times, minutes after hanging up with Isshin. His mind reeled back to the conversation, which really didn't help alleviate his stress at all.

"_Kisuke?" Urahara could clearly hear the panic in the man's voice, but took it in stride, acting relaxed as usual._

"_Ah, Isshin! Haven't talked to you since… oh, must have been a few hours! How's it been? Big changes at all?"_

"_Enough joking around." Urahara immediately came to attention; Isshin was usually the joking type, and for him to immediately jump on his case like this meant something was seriously wrong._

"_Kisuke, have they arrived yet?" Urahara glanced at the clock on the counter, frowning a bit._

"_Well no, they're not supposed to be for another thirty minutes at least. Why? What's up?" he inquired, fanning himself lackadaisically with the fan in his hand._

"_Turn on the news. Channel seven."_

"_Well, alright," Urahara agreed flippantly, but did as he was instructed by flitting through the channels of the small TV that hung in the corner of his currently-empty shop. Once he reached the channel, a newswoman's voice immediately interrupted the air, her tone and expression serious._

"…_seems a subway has disappeared, police are now checking the route for any possible sign of where it might be. The passengers are unknown, but there could be as many as twenty onboard… We're getting news now that the bus was number 6843…" An alarm erupted in Urahara's head at the familiarity, and his expression immediately darkened._

"_Kisuke?" Urahara lowered the volume on the television, but didn't dare turn it off._

"_Yeah, I'm here."_

"_Kisuke, that's the same subway number they had. The same one. Where could it have gone? Do you think it was them?" Urahara was silent a moment. It was completely possible, he mused. He and Isshin both knew already the lengths they'd go to in order to get what they want. But what could they possibly want? Urahara worried his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes narrowing. Surely they didn't do it just to get to Isshin's family? Before the man on the other line could call out to him again, Urahara answered._

"_That's definitely a possibility," he answered calmly, "But we can't assume anything yet. It may as well have been a freak accident, for all we know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."_

Even after they had bid farewells and hung up, Urahara knew he had done little to ease Isshin's mind, because Urahara himself wasn't exactly calm. After all, Urahara sighed, fanning himself again with his eyes flitting to the television screen, Urahara had something to lose on that subway train, too.

* * *

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Everyone in the store automatically flinched as the yell ripped through the air, cutting off any casual shopper's murmurs and causing women to cover their children's ears.

Two people that worked there, a boy with blonde hair to his chin and an older teen with short dark hair and a number sixty-nine tattooed on his face, both cringed behind the counter, too busy fearing to send the customers their usual apologetic looks. The source of this disturbance, of course, was an orange-haired, busty woman who held a phone to her ear, her face red and scrunched in a furrowed frown.

"YOU TRY TELLING ME TO NOT BE LATE AGAIN, AND RIGHT WHEN I THOUGHT I WOULD GET A PROMOTION TODAY, YOU MEANY-FACE ASS—"

The blonde guy leaned over to whisper in the other's ear while Matsumoto let out a delightful string of whines and curses, resulting in more customers looking in utter shock and horror at the manager currently screaming her lungs out.

"Man, I'd hate to be Toshiro right now…" The other teen grunted and nodded in agreement, vaguely wondering if it was possible to bust someone's ear drums through their voicemail.

* * *

Isshin wasn't sure what to do. There were many things he wanted to do, one being to go out and search on his own, but none of them were actually plausible. When he'd first heard of a strange incident, he'd been gone from the station not an hour and a half. Once he'd gone home, he'd immediately turned on the TV, and his heart basically stopped.

This was the absolute last thing he needed. They needed. Ichigo was supposed to take the girls somewhere safe, and now there was no telling where any of them were. Isshin couldn't help but think of _them_. As Urahara had said on the phone, there was no possible way of knowing, and the news reporters didn't lead on about anything such as foul play, but the suspicion was still there. Something about it struck the dad as too coincidental.

How did it happen that his family, the one who had been going through so much lately, just happened to be on this particular subway that now mysteriously fell of the face of the earth, not arriving at its first stop or the others afterwards? As the clock ticked on, Isshin felt himself growing more and more worried. He glanced at the picture on the living room coffee table and his eyes softened. It was of his wife, beautiful auburn locks cascading around her smiling face while she held an infant version of Ichigo, who had smile to much then.

Sometimes, more often than not, Isshin wished she were here in times like this, before reminding himself that it was best she wasn't; he wouldn't want her to stress like this. Though, if she were still alive, she'd hit him over the head for ever thinking of such an idiotic thing. Isshin felt the smile on his face, and let it linger there before fading as he turned to lock onto the moving screen once again, searching for any sign that his surviving family was alright, so that they wouldn't have to worry any more.

* * *

Sora couldn't believe it. In fact, he could barely contain himself from bursting into tears or going into a rant and smashing everything around him. Usually Sora wasn't a violent person (ironic in his line of work), and Orihime would disapprove is she heard his thoughts, but sometimes Sora couldn't help it, and now was one of those times.

He stood in the middle of his station, staring up at the television with worried, clouded eyes. For once, the room was relatively quiet, only a couple of murmurs and shuffling of papers happening, though he knew the other offices were in a frenzy at the moment.

Numbly, Sora felt one of his friends put a heavy hand on his shoulder, though he didn't turn to see who it was. In the back of his mind, he made a note to thank whoever it was later.

Everyone in the office knew about Orihime; Sora would usually never shut up about his little sister, and how she was growing up, and soon everyone had grown to realize that their comments about her figure or anything of the sort weren't exactly accepted by her protective older brother. Now, with everything that was happening… So soon after the court decision and everything. Sora felt himself frown, his arms crossed tightly. The two weren't related, were they?

Surely no one would go through this length of trouble to get to Orihime simply because of her relationship to him and his part in the whole deal? Besides, so far the media was playing it off as some type of freak-accident. Though this sounded convincing, Sora wasn't completely reassured, and was once again thankful for the hand on his shoulder. He knew no one would blame him if he began to cry, but there was no way he was going to allow himself to do that. Not now. If something… bad happened, then he would allow himself to cry, no matter who was around. No, until then… he would do everything in his power to bring his little sister home.

* * *

It was horrendous. Ichigo gagged. Someone threw up—maybe several people. Chunks of flesh hung off at intervals, dry and wet blood intermingled in rusty, maroon canyons. The smell and look of burnt flesh made the vomit hovering behind Ichigo's Adam's apple quiver slightly, threatening to explode, and thickly it went back down to rest a little lower with the efforts of swallowed saliva. The air was pierced with metallic, stomach-churning fumes pouring off the mound of tanned and reddened meat before them. Ichigo could feel Renji behind him, and tried to send him a mental message to make Yuzu and Karin turn away; this was something even Ichigo himself didn't want to see.

* * *

**Soooooooooooooo... yeah. Not that great at gore, sorry :/ if you don't like it, you're in luck! There probably won't be that bad of gore in the future. If people request it, though I will try my best :) Well, we've discovered that Isshin has connections to Urahara, Urahara has connections to someone on the subway other than Isshin's family, and who is this 'them' everyone keeps talking about? Is it the same 'them', or different? o.O We shall see! Well... I feel like I'm forgetting something... I think I was going to ask a question... Oh! If you guys want, check out this author Ballet Shinigami's fanfic Misguided Feelings, it's from the _Mortal Instruments series_ :) Alright then... well I'm unbelievably tired, so I'ma just gonna go to bed now. Please review,,,,,,,, they make me happy :))))))))))))))))))))))))) Byessssssssssssss!  
**


	5. Human Sushi

**Hey! Ummmmmm... been a while, haha ^^" Sorry about that... Alright, first order of business; there were some questions I wanted to answer and shout outs that I wanted to make:**

**1. Why is it called the Arc Effect? Is it going to be explained soon? ANSWER: Yes, there is a reason it is called 'The Arc Effect', and whether it's going to be revealed soon, I doubt it. It'll probably be somewhere in the middle or towards the end. How long this story is going to be, I'm unsure. It really depends on whether people like it or not for me to continue, or if I continue getting inspiration. So far, we're good :)  
**

**Thank-You to:** AmbiguousPsyche- **For reviewing practically (if not) every chapter. They're funny and fuel my ego ^^ **D-Same reason :), Helooworldx3, HappyBlossom, and skatingandcruzing. **(If I misspelled any, I apologize. I blame it on lack of sleep.) But yes! I apologize for this being late... I actually had the majority of this written awhile ago but became**** distracted... So I've been wondering, I basically have planned out what I want to happen in this fic, but if there is anything you guys want to ask me to maybe put in, feel free! I know some people put polls up or ask specific questions like "this person with him, or this person with him?" and whatnot XD I just figured if you wanted your input, feel free! That might not mean I'll put it in, but I will definitely take it into account and consider it :)**

**Oh, and sorry about this... but: There is a specific couple that the majority of people asked me for but I'm most likely not going to put in. But I'm not telling you which one. So you'll have to read to find out. :) Anyhows, onward!  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

It was horrendous. Ichigo gagged. Someone threw up—maybe several people. Chunks of flesh hung off at intervals, dry and wet blood intermingled in rusty, maroon canyons. The smell and look of burnt flesh made the vomit hovering behind Ichigo's Adam's apple quiver slightly, threatening to explode, and thickly it went back down to rest a little lower with the efforts of swallowed saliva. The air was pierced with metallic, stomach-churning fumes pouring off the mound of tanned and reddened meat before them. Ichigo could feel Renji behind him, and tried to send him a mental message to make Yuzu and Karin turn away; this was something even Ichigo himself didn't want to see.

Immediately Ichigo spurred into action, pointing and calling out orders, demanding the cleanest blanket they could find, a full water bottle, and both his First-aid kit and, if there was one, the one that should be stored near the front of the subway. Renji along with a few others pushed back their shock and horror, and soon the two wary-looking teens, Uryuu and Tatsuki, lay what was left of their friend on a stretched out blanket. Once he had everything he needed, he shooed everyone away, and jumped into work.

* * *

Orihime felt the tears crowding her eyes, but tried to force them back. Both she and a young boy, Hanataro, had offered to help, and Ichigo had taken Hanataro up on his offer before telling her to stand by just in case. Now, the younger boy was crouched on the other side of the mutilated man as Ichigo was, surprisingly doing whatever he was asked with a grim face, not once seeming to even gag. Orihime briefly wondered if he was used to seeing such things before a wave of metallic odor bathed her, and she squeezed her eyes shut again, pulling the small green-haired girl she'd been placed in charge of closer to her chest. Both she and Yoruichi were holding onto the children, making sure they did not see any of what was lying, barely breathing, if at all, a few meters from them.

To Orihime's left, on the opposite wall of the bus, she saw who she recognized as Ichigo's sisters, a brown-haired one wrapped in the other's embrace while the red-head, Renji, sat in front of them talking to the slightly more controlled one, strategically placed, Orihime noticed where it would almost be impossible for them to see behind him. The stony-faced girl seemed to be paying attention, but didn't seem to be responding a lot to anything he said.

Beside them, a white-haired boy sat calmly, his eyes surveying the wreck before him with a hard expression before returning to the group to his right. Orihime continued to observe the others, refusing to look anywhere near the mass of bone, blood, and skin that used to be a man. Her eyes continued over to the subway car, where the blue-haired, scary-looking guy, Grimmjow, was still seated, now balancing an arm on a raised knee, his injured ankle still stretched out. Thankfully, the others had convinced him to put his cigarette out, though grudgingly, and now he stared up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. Just then, a brilliant green caught her attention, and she froze.

A deep emerald stared at her calculatingly from the canvas of a pale face framed by dark black locks. Orihime felt the hair on the back of her neck stand as those seemingly unemotional eyes continued to stare at her unwaveringly, not at all perturbed that they'd been caught. After a moment those eyes turned away, relinquishing her from their hold, and Orihime ducked her head, an uncomfortable warmth growing across her cheeks. She tried to push away her embarrassment, but couldn't get those dazzling eyes out of her mind. A grunt of frustration from Ichigo brought her from her thoughts, and she clutched Nel firmer to her, once again trying to ignore that horrid smell and the sight of what she had seen to no avail.

* * *

Grimmjow cocked an eyebrow slyly, which went almost unnoticed to the raven-head sitting beside him. He rolled his eyes at being ignored and spoke lowly.

"A bit of a weird time for ya ta be makin' googly eyes at a chick, don't cha think?" Finally, those jewel-like eyes fell upon him, blank as usual.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking of, trash." Grimmjow again rolled his eyes, and wished for about the millionth time in the past few minutes that he had a cigarette in his mouth.

"Sure, sure. Just don't blame me when people don't find it exactly romantic that ya scored with some chick because you two looked at each other when some guy was dyin' or some shit."

"I wasn't planning on blaming you for anything, though I do not know what exactly you are referring to—" Grimmjow waved him off with a hand airily.

"Nothin', just me and my trashy thoughts, I guess," he snarled lightly. Successfully, this caused the young man beside him to fall silent. Grimmjow's gaze alighted over the girl in question, who now had her eyes shut and an almost alarmingly tight grip on a little green-haired girl before drifting over to look at Ichigo and that younger guy Hanataro at work.

Grimmjow had seen quite a lot of damage in his lifetime—limbs broken, flesh cut open, the works—but he had to admit, he was impressed by how well the small teen was handling himself. Though he _had_ flown out the back door of a train—Grimmjow definitely couldn't forget that—there was quite a bit of carnage, and obvious to the few piles of puke in the corner, not everyone could exactly stomach it.

Hell, even the smell was enough to make someone gag. Grimmjow's fingers automatically flexed towards his pockets where the cigarettes were, but agitatedly forced himself not to grab them. Beside him, Ulquiorra was calm as usual, not seeming to be bothered at all by the butchered person lying just a few meters away. Grimmjow scoffed a bit, and those eyes slid to him, but made no comment. Couldn't expect less from a present-day fucking vampire.

* * *

Small sobs issued from the small girl beside Rukia, who shifted uncomfortably. Once the man—loosely called—had come, the smaller girl that had been crying earlier immediately was sent into a fit of hysterics, and Rukia immediately went over to help.

Though her older brother was the ice queen himself, and thus she was low on the 'comforting-abilities' scale, Hisana had always taught her to care for people, and damnit, she was going to try.

"Hey," she called out quietly to the girl next to her, who had her face buried in her knees. The sobbing quieted a bit in response, but she didn't raise her head. Rukia counted this as a minor success and glanced around. Everyone seemed off in their own worlds, and for that, Rukia was thankful. She would sacrifice a bit of her secret for the comfort of one person, but like hell she'd let the rest of them know, just in case… Another glance at Grimmjow and his friend made Rukia's eyes harden and she turned back to the girl beside her.

"Hey, don't worry," she called again softly, so that only the other girl could hear her, "What's your name?" Apparently, deciding to change approach work, and the girl raised her head a bit to reveal watery dark eyes. She sniffed and stared straight ahead, not seeming to really acknowledge Rukia.

"M-Momo…" Rukia smiled a bit, flagging another mental victory.

"It's nice to meet you," she replied. The girl didn't respond, not even with a nod, and it was silent before her head dropped again, her forehead resting against her knees. Though her sobbing had stopped, it was eerily quiet, and Rukia found herself liking the silence even less than before.

Part of her wished she had stayed with Orihime, Yoruichi, and the girls, but the rest registered that she was the only person who had tried to calm the hysteric girl since… everything had happened, and so she stayed where she was, drawing in on herself as she wondered if there was anything she could say to assure the girl that everything would be alright; after all, it was a little hard to do when Rukia wasn't even remotely sure herself.

* * *

Ichigo glanced at the younger teen from over the wrecked body. It was starting to look relatively human now; Ichigo had given him sedatives—even so, he was unsure whether he was actually awake or not, as nothing changed with his breathing or heartbeat and he never opened his eyes—and he'd given numbing shots in the worst areas, using all but one syringe. Still, there was a lot of blood, and Ichigo was doing all he could without proper medical tools he knew they needed in order to keep this guy alive. Hopefully they would be found soon enough that the man would be able to be care-flighted to the nearest hospital.

"You doing ok?" Hanataro looked up at him in surprise and nodded a bit.

"Yes, sir." Ichigo was impressed; when he'd chosen Hanataro to help him instead of that girl Orihime, he'd done it simply because he'd trusted the boy earlier, and even though a bandaged foot was far from the extensive puzzle-piecing they were doing right now, he still had the feeling the boy would do what he asked, no matter how queasy it made him. Ichigo was surprised to find that the younger teen was not among those who had yacked in the corner upon receiving what was left of—what was his name again? Chad?

"So, have you done this kind of thing before?" Ichigo started again pulling out the bandages they'd need—he'd already stitched up as much of the slice skin as he could in the worst places; now they needed to keep the blood from flowing, at least until they could get him patched up at an actual hospital.

"Um, not really," Hanataro answered bashfully, rubbing the back of his head, "I just volunteer at the hospital near my house a lot, is all. They don't really let me do much, but I've seen medical procedures done, and I'm hoping to go to school to become a doctor when I get to college." Ichigo smiled a bit.

"Same here. Except my dad is a doctor. He works at a hospital near our house. We used to own our own clinic, but after our mom died… he decided to get rid of it." Hanataro's eyes softened, and to Ichigo's surprised, he bowed his head a bit.

"I'm very sorry." Ichigo smiled.

"Thanks." The conversation fell off, the air feeling a bit calmer than it had before.

Quite a while passed, no one really keeping track of time, before Ichigo finally stood, motioning Uryuu and Tatsuki over. After talking with them, he said something to Hanataro, who nodded, before moving over to Renji and his sisters. Renji stood as his friend came near him, all of them looking at him expectantly.

"So?" Renji questioned quietly. Ichigo sighed, reminding himself not to run a bloody hand through his hair.

"He's stable for now," he said, "I gave him almost all of the pain numbing injections and sedatives, but if he does wake up, he'll be in a hell of a lot of pain. I patched up most of the bad parts and stopped most of the blood flow, but the rest of it has to be put together and he's got to get more blood in him soon. He lost a lot during the time he was lying after the fall, and especially when they were moving him to bring him here." Renji nodded his understanding and clapped a hand on his friend's back. Ichigo crouched in front of his sisters, consciously placing his hands behind his feet to hide the blood, though there was little he could do about the spots on his shirt.

"Hey," he said, eyes soft, "are you guys ok?" Yuzu looked up from where her face had been buried in Karin's shoulder, her honey eyes moist, and gave a cry, flinging herself into her older brother's arms.

"Ichi!" Ichigo's arms automatically went to wrap around her, but he stopped them just in time, instead resting his head on top of his little sisters.

"Sh, sh… it's alright, Yuzu…" Karin just watched him, and Ichigo met her eyes meaningfully, and her own responded. A few moments later, Renji came back with some tissues—from whose bag, he didn't know or really care—and a clean shirt (Ichigo only realized that it was his later when he actually gave a rat's ass). Ichigo thanked him and, though it wasn't really necessary with the half-naked Hispanic lying on the ground for everyone's eyes to see whether they liked it or not, went into the subway car to change. Once he'd cleaned his hands of what blood he could and changed into the clean shirt, he counted.

They now had four water bottles and the rest of the food to divide between about twenty people. Chad or whatever would have to stay plenty hydrated, and the young ones would have to deal with water instead of the apple juice which had exploded from their less-than-resilient Sippy-cups.

At the moment, Ichigo was sure that everyone was averse to putting anything into their stomachs, but sooner or later they would all grow hungry, and then it would be left to Ichigo to explain why they had to divide the food, and why the young ones wouldn't be able to eat as much as they wanted to or usually did. Ichigo sighed, this time letting himself run a hand through his tangled hair. This reminded him of the stinging on his back and he cursed a bit, creating a mental note to have Hanataro or someone take a look at it later.

* * *

Hanataro did as he told, walking around the area to see if anyone needed help. Most of them seemed uninjured, which he was thankful for, but as Ichigo had explained, Hanataro was also checking to make sure they weren't terribly stricken by what they'd seen. He had watched videos back at the hospital that had people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Mostly it came from scarring events that happened to a person, but one of the doctors had explained that some people's psyche was weaker than others, and some events or sights could possibly set someone off at any given moment. Hanataro knew Ichigo didn't want anyone getting hurt, and so started with that nice girl who had volunteered with him before, Orihime.

Both she and an intimidating woman with a nasty-looking arm seemed alright both ways (besides the arm, which Ichigo had said earlier was unfixable at the moment) and so were the two people to their left, one girl seemed maybe a year or so older than him and the other one, who Hanataro recognized as the person who had been hurt on the car before, who just nodded to him before he left them. Next were Ichigo's little sisters; the red-head left shortly after he came over, no doubt to find Ichigo, and Hanataro smiled nervously.

"Hey… are you guys alright?" he asked quietly, kneeling down in front of them. The smaller one, who he remembered Ichigo calling Yuzu, sniffed and nodded, hugging a stuffed lion to her chest. Her sister—Karin?—sighed a bit.

"Yeah, we're fine." Hanataro nodded and turned back to the nicer-looking sibling and smiled.

"What's that you got there?" he asked, motioning to the lion. A blush spread on Yuzu's face and she pulled it closer to her.

"N-Nothing…" Karin rolled her eyes.

"It's her stuffed animal. She takes it everywhere." Yuzu's face blared red and she immediately protested.

"I do not, Karin! That's so mean!—" Hanataro blinked a bit before smiling at the girls bantering. His eyes instinctively turned to his right, and turquoise ones met him. He felt them widen, and held the gaze a moment before a hand suddenly reached toward him expectantly. Hanataro blinked again, bringing himself out of his mind.

"…Toshiro Hitsugaya." Hanataro felt the hair on the back of his neck raise at the cool, calm tone, before he pushed it away and took the slightly larger hand in his and smiled.

"Hanataro Yamada," he responded cheerfully. This exchange brought the attention of the two girls, who introduced themselves needlessly. Nevertheless, Hanataro shook their hands also and smiled.

"So where did you learn to do that?" Toshiro questioned, nodding towards the man still lying almost in the middle of the area, though now he had those two who brought him by his side. Hanataro was caught by how white Toshiro's hair was, but shrugged.

"I volunteer at a hospital near my house, and I guess I just picked up on a few things," he said truthfully, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh wow, that's so cool!" Yuzu exclaimed, and he chuckled a bit bashfully, "but have you ever done anything like that before?"

"Uh, no, I…" The conversation went on, and the air seemed lighter for some reason. After a while it started to fade, and Hanataro found himself again wondering, and finally blurted out,

"Hey, Toshiro?" The teen in question turned his gaze to him, and Hanataro swallowed, "Um… is your hair color… natural?" Both of the girl twins turned to Toshiro also, automatically curious. Toshiro sighed and crossed his arms.

"Yes, it's natural." Yuzu's eyes lit up as Karin's turned skeptical.

"Oh really? That's cool! So you were just born with it?"

"Hmph… are you sure?" Hanataro tilted his head.

"Oh yeah," he blinked suddenly, "Your eyebrows are white, too." Toshiro nodded a bit while Karin scoffed.

"Yeah, well he could've just dyed them too." Yuzu's eyes widened in awe, while a vein popped up against Toshiro's temple.

"And why would I do that?" he snapped. Karin snorted.

"Who knows, maybe you wanna be albino?"

"Or maybe you're in a rock band!"

"You could be imitating a rabbit?" Hanataro offered, and Karin chuckled.

"Yeah, so you can blend in with the snow in the winter." They all laughed and that vein pulsed as Toshiro's eyes shut in agitation, and Hanataro briefly wondered if he would try to hit them all. The laughing died down though, and the vein on his temple stopped pulsing, but he still didn't open his eyes, and Hanataro could have sworn he heard him mutter, "Idiots…"

Hanataro continued talking with the girls, and after a while Toshiro joined in, all those nerves that had built up seemed to unwind, the pressing matters at hand and the seriousness of their surroundings momentarily washed out as background noise.

* * *

Yoruichi's arm hurt like hell. A little after Ichigo had finished with the man that was barely alive, he'd given her two pills for pain killer, and this time she took them. They helped calm the pain into a faint throbbing, but that wouldn't last long, she knew. It wasn't the first time Yoruichi had broken an arm, but this was pushing on the longest time she'd gone without having it treated. Yachiru was latched onto her other arm, promptly asleep, and it seemed Orihime was in the same boat with Nel. Yoruichi caught the younger girl's eye and smiled.

"Hey, you alright?" Orihime looked at her in surprise in then smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, I think Nel's asleep…" Yoruichi smiled back before it dropped a bit.

"They'll be hungry when they wake up," she sighed, adjusting her uninjured arm slightly as it began to tingle from Yachiru's weight, "They'll throw a fit when they're not able to eat as much as they want, especially Nel." Worry lines appeared on the young girls' forehead.

"But… hopefully we won't be down here too long, and when they get out, they'll be able to eat whatever they want!" Orihime started cheerfully, her eyes lighting up as she continued, "You know, maybe I can cook for them sometime! I love making my own recipes, but not a lot of people like them… I don't know why. My brother always likes them, but…" Yoruichi found herself smiling as the girl rambled on. Eventually, she was able to cut in.

"So is one of your parents a cook or something?" Orihime blinked in surprise before her eyes turned somber and she gave a sad smile.

"No… Both of my parents are dead… They died when I was little. As far as I know, neither of them cooked…" Yoruichi tilted her head, her eyes softening.

"Then who do you live with?" Orihime jumped and her eyes brightened once again.

"Oh! I live with my brother, Sora! He's so nice and awesome…" Yoruichi smiled at her lit-up face.

"And what does he do?"

"Oh, he's a cop!" Orihime exclaimed, before snapping her mouth shut and looking in alarm at the two girls directly beside them. The toddlers continued sleeping, though, and Orihime grinned sheepishly before turning thoughtful, tapping her chin.

"Well, really he's one of those people… What do you call it…? Where he takes care of criminals when they're not so bad anymore…?"

"A probation officer?" Yoruichi offered. Orihime smacked a fist into her open palm.

"That's it!" she stated triumphantly, "He's super good, too! But recently the guy he was looking after died… Sora wouldn't tell me much about it, but it made me kinda sad…"

"He died?" The two girls looked up in surprise to see Ichigo, who was staring at Orihime. She nodded, and Ichigo pressed on.

"Do you know how?" Orihime frowned a bit at the ceiling.

"Umm…. I think… someone killed him? I'm not sure… Sora didn't talk about it a lot." Ichigo surprised them by stepping forward, a serious look on his face.

"Do you know his name?" he asked lowly. Orihime glanced at Yoruichi, and though nothing showed on her face, she was just as confused and curious as the younger girl.

"Uh… No, Sora never told me that," Orihime answered with an apologetic frown. Ichigo stepped back, seeming to relax a bit, though there was an indescribable look in his eyes.

"Is there a reason you asked?" Yoruichi questioned. Ichigo looked at her in surprise, as if he had forgotten they were there, before smiling and waving her off.

"Nah, just curious. Sorry about that." He gave them a short excuse and good bye before walking away, leaving the two to look after him.

"What do you think that was about?" Orihime asked worriedly. Yoruichi shook her head and gave the teen a reassuring smile.

"No telling, but don't worry about it. I'm sure he was just curious." Though neither actually believed this, Orihime nodded and they fell silent.

* * *

"Mizuiro, I'm gonna throw up!" Keigo whined.

"Again?" The black haired bastard didn't even look up from his phone screen, where he'd been clicking helplessly ever since being told there was no signal. Keigo pouted.

"You're so mean to me." Mizuiro didn't even bother responding this time. Keigo glanced around and his eyes narrowed dramatically before he crawled over to Mizuiro, whispering in his ear.

"Hey Mizuiro… You think that bald guy would let me touch his head?" Said bald guy turned around, Keigo not having spoken quite as silently as he'd thought.

"You even think about it, pipsqueak, I'll pop your head like a zit!" the taller teen growled, making his friend laugh. Keigo squeaked and hid behind Mizuiro, and when the bald teen turned away to talk to his friend, he scowled.

"Mizuiro, everyone hates me!"

"I'm surprised they've gotten to know you so quickly."

"MIZUIRO!"

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Ichigo stood in front of them all again, automatically gaining his attention. Ichigo rubbed his hands together, glancing at Renji who gave him an encouraging nod. Ichigo glanced at Chad and the two sitting quietly on either side of him before turning back to the rest.

"Alright, guys," he started a bit quietly, trying to let everyone hear him without disturbing the sleeping girls and Chad, "Look, I don't know how long we'll be down here. It might be a few more hours, it might be longer. But either way, it makes sense that we ration what we have. All of the food and water is sitting in the car, and there's not a lot of it. I'm not sure exactly how long it'll last us." Ichigo refrained from adding, _hopefully long enough_, but it seemed to hang in the air.

"So each person will only be able to eat a small amount at a time—"

"And who the hell are you to decide that?" Grimmjow snapped expectantly, as others made slight noises of protest also. Ichigo sighed and glared slightly at him.

"We can put it to a vote if you want," Ichigo offered, to which Grimmjow snorted, "But I'm telling you, it's our best option to have someone monitor it at all times. Not that anyone here isn't trustworthy." Ichigo added this quickly, and Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"…But everyone will get hungry at one point. The people who need the most are the younger ones and Chad. All I'm asking is that you try to push your hunger aside just a bit so that we have enough food for them until we get out of here. I'm not saying don't eat at all—just try to ration what you can." It was silent for a second.

"And who's going to monitor the food?" The question came from a teen no older than Ichigo, who was surprisingly bald. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair.  
"I hadn't decided that yet," he answered honestly, "I thought that might be a decision you guys want to make. But it has to be more than one person; one person can't be expected to stay in the subway all the time." Again it was silent, for a longer period of time. Surprisingly, it was Orihime who spoke up first.

"W-Whoever you decide is fine with me," she said quietly, her cheeks reddening as the attention turned to her, though her eyes remained on Ichigo, "I trust you." There were a few nods and murmurs of agreement, these including Yoruichi and Hanataro. Ichigo almost smiled before nodding.

"Alright. If it's alright with everyone, I'll assign shifts. I may pick you, I may not, but that doesn't mean I don't trust you." Ichigo walked away with an air of finality, and Grimmjow snorted from his spot on the ground.

"Doesn't trust us, my ass," he growled. Ulquiorra was still beside him.

"If you continue to snort like that, someone might think you are imitating a pig." Grimmjow glared at him, barely resisting the urge to smack those green eyes right out of his head. With an agitated groan he turned away, his fingers flicking his lighter open before snapping it shut again, repeating the process; he was almost positive that if he left it open too long, he might not be able to refrain from setting Ulquiorra and the whole damn place on fire.

Uneasiness settled above their heads in the air like a blanket, the air a buzz as if something big was going to happen. Little did they know that whilst their own tensions and fears grew higher, there was a form lurking in the dark, a large grin curling across its face. Things might just start to get interesting.

* * *

**Hmmmmmm... Dun dun dun! Do I always leave it off at a cliffhanger...? Yep. Basically. But it keeps you on your toes :) Sooo... I felt like the end was really rushed... sorry about that :/ I'm considering getting a co-writer for this fic. I love writing it and I don't doubt I can do it by myself, don't get me wrong, but I just love having someone bounce ideas off of... So, look out for that! And if you would like to help (if you don't mind spoilers XD) just private message me :) If I don't respond or something, please don't get offended! I typically respond, but sometimes I get caught up with things, and most likely I'm writing this story along with others, so yayy ^^ :) Anyhows... I hope you liked it! I know things might seem slow-moving (or not, I don't know how you see it :P) but I promise, details are important! So pay attention to those :) And things in the next few chapters will start to heat up with arguments, interests, and more hints at something more sinister afoot... Thank you for reading and reviewing :) Review (again please ^^) and stuffs... !**


	6. Coincidence? We Think Not

**Wow... it took longer than I thought... I'm sorry DX butttt here it is! Hopefully you like it! Soo... yeah! Really sorry guys :( But wahla! It's been moving a bit slow, but this chapter and the next few will unveil what's been really happening, and then the story will pick up a lot! So I hope you're ready! Anyhows... Please don't hate me, and,**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

It was a silent buzz that filled the stale air of the cavern currently occupied by the unique range of people. Chad lay where they had left him, breathing weakly, having his bandages rinsed and changed out every so often—as much as they could afford to. His friend, Uryuu, and the woman Tatsuki sat on either side of him, lapsed in silence with the occasional murmured words.

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra sat where they had been almost the entire time, though Grimmjow's ankle was a lot better now and he'd been allowed to have one cigarette, though they all knew he'd soon be fighting for two, then three, and so on. Inside the car sat Ikkaku and Yumichika; it seemed one didn't go anywhere without the other, and so both sat conversing beside the food and water, guarding it from anyone who might take more than their share. Karin, Yuzu, and Toshiro were talking quietly, inquiring about work and school, while each of them stole glances at the others around them.

Keigo and Mizuiro sat in the corner, Keigo whining and gaining attention from a few others every so often before Mizuiro lazily flicked him in the ear, causing the teen to pout. The gaggle of remaining girls, Yoruichi, Orihime, Rukia, and Momo sat in a small semi-circle with the newly-awakened toddlers. Nel was still curled in Yoruichi's lap, gazing around at the others, while Yachiru stood and wandered around the circle, occasionally bumping into or falling on someone or something.

On the inside of the car, near the front as opposed to the back where the two conversing men were, Ichigo slipped his shirt on, the sting now a sweet numb due to the medicine. He nodded and thanked Hanataro, who smiled before beginning to put away the supplies. With another nod to the two men at the back, Ichigo climbed out of the busted subway car door, scoping out the scene.

The foul stench of Grimmjow's cigarette filled the air, and though it didn't bother Ichigo too much, he knew a lot of the others were disgusted by it, mostly Yoruichi and Rukia. Ichigo didn't glance at Grimmjow to see how far along he was with the smoking object, not wanting to cause a fight; it seemed as if the slightest thing could set Grimmjow off. It was like a time bomb waiting to happen.

The words Renji had told him popped into his mind, but he filed it away. So far Grimmjow had only been a little more than irritable; thankfully, as long as no one provoked him, Ichigo doubted he would be violent. _Then again,_ Ichigo's mind growled, darkening, _there aren't always reasons needed for scum to turn to violence._ A flash of orange hair and _that _face leapt into his mind, but Ichigo violently shook his head and made his way over to Renji, who stood near the women but far enough away to be out of ear shot, leaning against the wall.

Renji gave a short nod in greeting as Ichigo joined him, leaning on the wall to face the rest of the cavern, the darkness straight ahead and creeping onto the edge of the car, as if stalking, waiting for something. It reminded Ichigo that they had no way of knowing what it was like outside, or how long they'd been stuck down here. They obviously didn't know if anyone knew they were down here, and in turn, they didn't know whether or not anyone was actually looking for them.

Ichigo knew Isshin would know something was wrong when Ichigo didn't call him, and when he called Urahara he would find out that they'd never shown. But when would he start to realize it? Would it be too late? Would he realize in time, before they ran out of food, water, or worse?

There was no way Yoruichi could make it long with that arm of hers. She'd taken the pain killers, but it had to be hurting; and even when those faded, most of them needed and had been used on Chad; Yoruichi's arm was bad, but everyone had to agree that being reduced to some type of human sushi was a bit worse.

Ichigo grimaced at his own mind's use of language. For not the millionth time, he wondered it he was even fit to be in charge of these people. He couldn't dwell on it much longer, however; Renji spoke just then.

"Think they'll find us down here?" It was said so low that no one but the two it was intentioned for could hear it. Ichigo sighed and gave a short, determined nod.

"Yeah. There's no way no one will notice an entire subway train goes missing. And we don't even know what happened to the rest of them. They could be on the outside, already telling everyone what happened. Either way, they'll find us." Renji nodded. There were so many variables, so many things to consider. There was a possibility that no one would make it to them in time.

But no matter if the chance was slim or highly plausible; Ichigo had to keep believing that they would be found. As leader, he had to look at the optimistic, because if he didn't, neither would everyone else, and nothing good could possibly come out of it.

Ichigo glanced at his sisters, who were happily talking with the Toshiro boy from before. He saw Hanataro make his way over to them, but barely registered him. The older teen was glad Toshiro was there; even though he didn't trust any boys near his sisters (he called it his brotherly instinct, Karin called it a "pain-in-her-ass"), he was glad there was someone there to distract them, especially fragile Yuzu, from everything that was going on. Ichigo made a mental note to thank the young teen later when he had the chance.

Just then there was a tug on his shirt sleeve and Ichigo looked down in surprise to see Rukia, hat and hoodie covering herself, standing by his side. She didn't say anything and Ichigo gave Renji a glance, returned with a confused one, before following Rukia towards the back corner, stopping short of it so that no one around was in earshot. Ichigo frowned at her as she raised her hat slightly, those indigo eyes meeting his. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you think's going on here?" Ichigo frowned, shifting slightly.

"What're you talking about?" Rukia glanced around before grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him down slightly, decreasing their height difference so that she could talk more quietly to him without others hearing.

Ichigo grunted as his neck was yanked forward, straining his back slightly with the sudden force. He jumped slightly by the warm breath that suddenly hovered over his lips and fanned his cheeks, and he quickly met Rukia's serious, startlingly deep eyes.

"Look, I don't know about you, but this is too much of a coincidence for me." Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed at her again.

"Okay, midget, what are you talking about? I don't have time for riddles right now." This received him a glare, and her grip slightly tightened on the collar of his shirt, straining his back even more. She spoke again as Ichigo winced, drawing his attention when she practically became nose to nose with him.

"You don't understand some things, alright?" she started, and Ichigo tried hard to focus on her words, not the minty smell of her breath, her plump pink lips, or those hypnotic eyes. Needless to say, it was difficult. Nonetheless, she continued, and he strained—like his back, he mused painfully—to listen.

"There are people who know who I am, and who would want to do something like this. It doesn't strike me as a coincidence that I just 'happened' to be on the very subway car that crashed, when there hasn't been anything lately about this happening here or anywhere around here, in fact. And it _definitely_ doesn't strike me as a coincidence that _he_ happens to be on the very same car as me, at the very same time."

Ichigo looked back, following Rukia's line of sight to where Grimmjow was still leaning against the car, beginning to finish off his cigarette. He looked back at Rukia and her serious eyes before shaking his head, beginning to pull away. Her hold tightened, however, and he glared. She returned it.

"Aren't you being a little paranoid?" he asked, "You're not on any kind of pill for that and they all got crushed in the crash, right?" Rukia's glare hardened.

"This isn't the time to joke around," she snapped, her eyes flickering back over his shoulder to Grimmjow, "That man is a wanted criminal, and even though he's hurt, I'm sure he has something up his sleeve. They could very well be after me." Ichigo's eyes softened in sympathy and surprise when a genuine flash of fear ran through her eyes before disappearing.

"He's just some petty criminal," Ichigo said, shaking his head, "And he is injured. If he did do anything, we'd handle it, I promise." Rukia shook her head as Ichigo pulled away again, though this time she let him.

"You don't have any idea what you could be dealing with," she said quietly, "There are some powerful people you definitely don't want to mess with. Let's all just hope this _is_ just some freak accident, and everything is coincidence." Ichigo frowned, something small going off in his head.

"What kind of powerful people?" Rukia met his eyes for a moment before shaking her head. Ichigo sighed, knowing that was all he was going to get out of her. He put a large hand on her head, making her scowl beneath the visor of the cap.

"Don't worry about it, okay? Just stay close to me if you want." Rukia scoffed slightly and rolled her eyes. But after she shoved his hand away, she met his eyes again and there was appreciation there. While he was mesmerized by her dark indigo eyes, the smaller teen took the advantage and landed a quick, sharp kick to his shin before walking off, pulling her cap low and leaving a bent over, cursing strawberry in her midst.

After rubbing his shin and cursing plenty, though under his breath, to make a preacher blush, Ichigo mulled over the strange conversation. What did Rukia mean by 'powerful people'? Surely she didn't mean _those_ powerful people? Ichigo glanced over at Grimmjow. He had always been weary, though not intimidated, by those types ever since what happened to his mother, one of the reasons they had been on this subway car heading for Urahara's.

There were some things here his father had to solve out, he'd said, that would make it slightly unsafe for the girls to stay home for a while. Ichigo knew it was only a half-truth, but hadn't argued; his father, despite his strange ways, knew what he was doing, and Ichigo trusted him. Besides, it wasn't as if Ichigo was the only person stricken by what had happened; everyone was affected.

Another glance at Grimmjow made a knowing discomfort grow in the pit of his stomach. It did seem a bit too much of a coincidence. Though people like Grimmjow weren't exactly scarce in the part of town they'd been in, if what Rukia had said was true and there were people out to get her—which Ichigo determined that he would find out exactly why people would be out for her—it was a little too convenient that she, Grimmjow, and Ichigo and his sisters would all be on the same subway train, much less in the same car.

He was still rolling these thoughts over in his head when he walked back over to Renji, whose questions were brushed off slightly but not completely forgotten, and the two stood in silence, not for the first nor last time deep in their own thoughts about their strange predicament.

* * *

"No." Ulquiorra's brilliant emerald eyes met his.

"I did not say anything." Grimmjow scoffed, pressing the cigarette to his lips once again.

"Ya didn't have to. I know ya too well." He breathed out a trail of smoke, trying to soak in the last bit of nicotine left in the reduced cigarette, as Ulquiorra continued to watch him with those probing eyes.

"You also know that he won't take 'no' for an answer." Grimmjow sighed. He could feel eyes on him, and out of the corner of his eye saw the orange-head talking to some pipsqueak, but he brushed them off. Probably just thinking they should make sure he wouldn't kill anybody. He scoffed a bit, before realizing Ulquiorra was still waiting for a response. Finally he sighed, snuffing the lit end of his cigarette out on the ground next to him before adjusting to make himself more comfortable, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that as soon as we're outta here, you're gonna try and take me back, right?" Predictably, silence was his answer. Grimmjow's eyes narrowed slightly in front of him.

"You know I won't go easily. There's no way I'm going back now. Not after what he did. Nnoitra may have been scum, but he didn't deserve what they did." Ulquiorra also stared straight ahead of him, though no prominent emotion lay on his face.

"You also know that I will do what is within my power to bring you back. I will always follow his orders." Grimmjow nodded a bit as a heavy silence settled over them, and he spoke lowly, gruffly.

"Yeah… I know." It was silent again. He felt eyes once more, this time from a different direction, and rolled his eyes.

"Why don'tcha just go over and talk ta her already?" Those eyes slid over to him.

"What are you referring to now, trash?" Grimmjow snorted.

"You know what I'm talkin' about. Miss Googly-eyes over there can't take her eyes off ya, and it's getting' on my nerves, so just go over and talk to her already." Ulquiorra's eyes left him for a second, no doubt to look at the girl in question, before moving forward once again.

"I have no interest in such trash." Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"I ain't buyin' it for a second. Ya might be an unfeeling bastard, but ya ain't dumb."

"Sadly, the same can't be said for both of us." Grimmjow snarled at him, his left eye barely twitching.

"Why you…" Grimmjow took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, before letting it out in a heavy sigh.

"Let's just agree ta disagree, nyeh?" No response came, and Grimmjow was glad. He sank back, letting his head fall onto the metal behind him. He eyed Ulquiorra's still darkly stained shirt, though the vampire hadn't given any sign that it hurt at all. Of course, knowing him, that didn't mean anything; Grimmjow swore that if Ulquiorra's arm was cut off, the bastard wouldn't even blink an eye. Nonetheless, the blue haired teen motioned to it.

"When're ya gonna get that looked at?"

"Soon." The answer was cryptic and Grimmjow forced himself not to sigh again, instead running a hand through his blue hair and closing his eyes, feeling his entire body sag as his mind grew dark and weariness overtook him.

* * *

Grimmjow's breathing grew deep beside him, and Ulquiorra reluctantly allowed the taller teen to lean just slightly on him in his slumber. Ulquiorra wasn't sure if he could move if he wanted to; though the bleeding had grown slower, his wound still stung and ached. He knew he needed to have it looked at quickly, but it seemed any time he thought about going to the orange-haired one, Ichigo, there was always something else more pressing in the way.

Besides, Ulquiorra wasn't completely sure there was anything he _could_ do; from the feel, Ulquiorra would need stitches, and they had used plenty of those on the large Hispanic, along with the pain killers given to both him and the woman who he'd heard called Yoruichi.

Both of them had injuries far beyond Ulquiorra's, and so he sat in silence. He knew that if Grimmjow knew the actual depth of his wound, he'd be majorly angry, thus why Ulquiorra avoided the subject as much as possible. At the moment, the pale teen attempted to distract himself from dwelling on the useless subject, and so let his eyes scan the area.

Most were talking amongst themselves, a few had drifted off as Grimmjow had, and Ulquiorra briefly wondered what time it was; he'd never bothered to carry a watch with him, as the time never had really mattered before. Now, though, for a reason unknown, it didn't seem quite so trivial. He could feel those eyes on him. Grimmjow was right; he wasn't an idiot.

Ulquiorra knew exactly what he was talking about. He turned and met those chestnut brown eyes, and instantly they widened, her face flushing, and she ducked her head. Ulquiorra didn't understand why, though. Why would anyone be looking at him? The majority of the time, people ignored him, or they were intimidated by him and so tried to keep away from him as much as possible. Grimmjow often used this as an excuse as to why girls never approached him, but Ulquiorra always responded that they were probably put of by his blue hair and trashy attitude.

* * *

Byakuya's face was steely, his eyes set on the man sitting across from him. The other man, with light brown hair and deep circles under his eyes, simply yawned.

"Why is he doing this?" The other man, Starrk, blinked blearily at him and gave a shrug.

"Why else? He's Aizen. You killed tons of us, and he wants payback."

"I haven't killed anyone, it was the police," Byakuya stated.

"You supply the police."

"Perhaps you should stop getting caught by them. Or cease your activities altogether." Starrk sighed.

"In some fantasy movie, that might actually happen, but we're in the real world, Byakuya. He's going to get what he wants."

"And what is it, exactly, that he wants?" Their eyes met seriously. Starrk's mouth was set in a thin line.

"Your daughter." Byakuya stiffened, but other than that, his expression remained schooled. Starrk was surprised; the only one he knew that had that great control over their emotions was Ulquiorra, but most rumors said Ulquiorra didn't even have emotions.

"Where is she?"

"I think you can guess that by now." Byakuya's mind flashed back to the conversation he'd had with Urahara.

"The subway." Starrk nodded.

"Along with several others, but they're less important, in Aizen's mind."

"And how do you expect to get her when she's trapped down there?" Starrk picked at his ear with his pinkie.

"There's someone down there for us. Several, in fact. They're just waiting for the signal." Byakuya was silent. Under the desk, his finger hovered over the security button.

"And if I just decide to kill or arrest you now?" Starrk shrugged.

"I'm expendable. And if you do, the two-day deal is off. They'll just kill your daughter, anyway." Byakuya was silent and observed the man.

"I see." His finger drifted away from the button, "And the specifics of the deal?" Starrk smiled.

"Do you think he'll agree?" Starrk shrugged.

"Dunno. He cares about her, but he's a stubborn mule. Almost worse than Grimmjow." Aizen smiled.

"Yes, well… Keep an eye on him. Be ready to tell Gin to be for it."

* * *

As people milled around the dark cavern, muttering and murmuring, hiding their fear as they wondered if they'd ever get saved, and their loved ones worried and others schemed on the outside, none of them knew why they were there, and it would take a while for them to find out that this had been fated from the beginning. It started long ago, before any of them bought that ticket, or before they contemplated leaving home. Each of their pasts intertwined, though they don't know it yet, and soon, their futures will form a tight bond, that could either save them all, or tear them each apart, one by one.

* * *

**:O So the person in the Cavern in the shadows was Gin. Hmm... and it seems there aren't a lot of coincidences here D: Next up: A look into the past! Unveiling people's pasts and adding up to why they are all here in the first place. WOOP fantastic. Hope you like plot, 'cuz this is all about it! And ya know.. some romance and sad stuff and gore thrown in there, too... Which you guys continue to give me suggestions and whatnot, I love them :) Sooo anyways, I hope you liked it! Review and stuffs, por favors, byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! **


	7. The Past is Back

**...I have no excuse. Well I do, but you don't want to hear it. So here's a chapter. There will be more on the way, I swear. I'm working on going through all of my stories and finishing them off as best as I can. Thank you if you waited patiently! I LOVE YOU. So yes. Here's a flashback.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

~Before the Trial

_Rugged, high-pitched breaths cut the air as slaps of feet on concrete echoed. She could hear it behind her—the low chuckling. Shadows lurked in the corner of her eyes; she saw him everywhere. The dank, dull tunnel she was in seemed to press in on her, contracting like the inside of a snake. Another chuckle sounded, closer, and she held in a scream. She turned another corner and came to a halt as only a large concrete wall filled her vision. It was silent except for the slow drip of water somewhere off down the tunnels. Her eyes closed. Slowly, so slowly, she turned._

_There he stood, grinning, knife in hand, already stained with her blood. Seeing it made her arm sting twice as much, but she ignored it._

_"Finally caught up to you," he said, taking a leisurely step forward. She stumbled back, her palms colliding with the cold, slimy wall behind her._

_"Ya've caused me a lot of grief, ya know," he said, tossing his black hair from his eyes, "The others don't even know we're down here. Just as well. More time to spend alone, eh?"_

_"I've already called the police," she began shakily, staring back at him, "They'll be on their way soon. So will my husband." His smile dropped, and his face morphed into anger and disgust._

_"Why you stupid—" There were the echoes of voices far above them, and he cursed. She gave an inaudible sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping. He snarled and suddenly whipped a gun out of his jacket. The sound of the bullet ricocheted as her body fell to the ground, her orange air flying about her as blood pooled underneath her._

_"Dumb bitch," he snarled. He heard the footsteps and yells getting closer and looked around before bolting back the way he had come. Winding tunnels filled with rats and a rank, overpowering smell led him in a maze. The shouts were everywhere, and when he turned a corner, suddenly there was a light right in his eyes, and a deep voice shouting in his ear._

_"Drop the weapon! Get down on the ground, now!" Other footsteps surrounded him, and he slowly set the weapon on the ground, raising his thin hands above his head. The light left his eyes for a second and he blinked, his eyes meeting those of steel gray. He smirked._

_"So yer tha one… I'd know tha' look anywhere. Tha' one of tha' poor bastard that jus' realized 'is wife is most likely dead." The other man's eyes hardened. Suddenly there were shouts from far away, and he began to move off as the criminal was forced to his knees, his wrists pinching in the cool metal. He growled and snapped after the man._

_"Ya mess with me, Isshin Kurosaki… It's only a matter of time 'fore the rest git ya and tha' rest of your family!" Isshin paused with his back to him, before running off again._

_"Get this scumbag out of here." Nnoitra hissed at the guy that said this, and was forced to his feet as Isshin ran off to find his wife._

* * *

"_They're going to pardon him, Urahara, I know it! Even if they don't, the most he'll get is a few years and probation—"_

"Isshin, slow down," Urahara attempted to calm him, "Everything will be fine. I'll handle it." He glanced over at Yoruichi, who looked up at the same time and caught his eye. She nodded in understanding and gracefully stepped off of the stool in the shop, grabbing the keys off the rack.

"I'll be back before dinner," she called. Urahara nodded, and she disappeared.

* * *

"Sir, Ms. Yoruichi is here to see you."

Byakuya looked up from the papers on his desk as the beautiful woman entered. He stood and extended a hand.

"Ms. Yoruichi. I am still wondering about the day you will tell us if that is your first or last name."

She smirked as she shook his hand in a firm grip.

"We'll be waiting for quite a while. Hey, maybe when all this business is done and we're old, we can grab dinner sometime."

Byakuya sat back at his desk as she took the seat across from him, and rubbed his eyes.

"Yoruichi…"

She waved a hand, smiling.

"It's just a joke, cowboy, calm down. Now we need to talk."

"Obviously. What is it he needs now?"

Yoruichi's face turned serious.

"Nnoitra. He's a part of your gang, isn't he?"

"I am not a gang leader, Ms. Yoruichi—" he scolded. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you know what I mean," she continued, leaning forward, "The one lead by _him._ You've managed to piss them off royally."

"Your point?"

"Well," she began, crossing her legs, her amber eyes probing, "You and Urahara are partners, are you not? And this… gang of yours knows all about him. And his friends. I assume you know who Isshin Kurosaki is."

"I've watched the news."

"Then you know that his wife was killed by one of the members of your gang, the one you managed to piss off."

"What is the point in all this, Ms. Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi stood and placed her hands on the desk, leaning dangerously close to his face.

"The point is," she stated lowly, "You are the closest thing we have to a connection with that gang. The one connected to them—Nnoitra—is going to get away with murder. He's already got the jury convinced that he'd thought she was someone coming to attack him, and the prints on the knife were washed away—"

"And what do you suppose I do about this?"

There was a pause.

"We need to get rid of him."

Byakuya leaned back in his chair and shook his head.

"That's not something I can do."

"You lead and aid the majority of the police force," Yoruichi pushed, "I know you have strings in places only you and Urahara know about. There has to be something you can do."

Byakuya shook his head again.

"Nothing that will not be caught up in the news or with the gang. As you said, Aizen's gang already is not happy with me since we caught them stealing my shipments last month. If something happens to one of their members, the fingers will point directly to me, and I will not allow them to touch my family or my business."

"Byakuya—"

"Ms. Yoruichi, I'm very busy, please—"

Just then there was a soft knock on the door, and talking immediately ceased. Yoruichi leaned back as Byakuya cleared his throat.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly and a young girl peaked in, with dark black hair and large black eyes.

"Rukia," Byakuya began icily, "What are you doing here?"

Rukia observed the two suspiciously, and Yoruichi gave her a little smile.

"Hisana wanted me to ask what you wanted for dinner…" she stated slowly. Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"She could have called me."

Rukia hadn't taken her eyes off of Yoruichi.

"She said your agent wasn't letting in any calls. Should I come back later?''

"No, no. Tell her whatever she makes is fine."

It was quiet and Rukia nodded, saying a good bye to her dad and casting one last suspicious glance to Yoruichi before leaving, letting the door close softly behind her.

Yoruichi sighed and turned back to Byakuya.

"I understand," she said, "but I can't think of that monster on the streets again."

Byakuya rubbed his eyes again.

"I know. I'll see what I can do."

Yoruichi smiled.

"Alright. Take care of yourself, nyeh?"

Byakuya nodded and walked her to the office door. She turned to him at the last moment and smiled.

"And tell Hisa I said hi, huh? I haven't seen her in a long time."

"I will."

Yoruichi shook her head, smiling.

"No you won't."

Byakuya was silent. Yoruichi reached up and softly placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Bye, bye, Bya," she whispered in his ear. In a moment she was gone through the door and Byakuya blinked. It had been a long time since he had been accustomed to that. His eyes then dropped down to Rukia's, who was looking up at him with arms crossed.

"Is there something I should know about?" she asked, her heavy brows drawn in in a worried frown. Byakuya shook his head.

"Nothing right now. But in these next few weeks, we'll have to see."

Rukia's face grew more confused, and he simply turned back to his office, leaving her to frown and figure out what exactly was going on.

* * *

Sora looked up at the man in front of him, matching his face with the picture on the file in his hands.

"So… Nnoitra? Is that how you say it?"

The other man scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Like it matters ta you."

Sora rubbed the back of his head.  
"Yes, well… I'm Sora Inoue, your probation officer. Though I suppose they already told you that."

Nnoitra didn't respond, instead busy scraping the edge of the table with his chipped nails.

"Well, I have to say, you seem different than you did in the trial, haha." Sora's pathetic chuckle died off as Nnoitra smirked at him.

"Ya well, I won, didn't I? That's all tha' matters."

Sora cleared his throat.

"Um, I guess so. So, I was just going over your file…"

Nnoitra leaned forward, and Sora had to force himself not to lean away.

"Ya got a family, Sory?"

"Sora."

"Hm? Ya got one?"

Sora forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, a younger sister, Orihime."

Nnoitra chuckled breathlessly.

"Well, I'll give ya a hint… Hide 'er. If yar goin' in ta' this business… there's no way she's gonna be safe. Especially now tha' ya' got me."

Sora's face turned a little red, and Nnoitra waived a hand.

"Nah, don't be afraid a' me, I ain't gonna do nothin' to 'er. But the rest of 'em? Well, now tha' ya' 'ave me, you and yar sister are fair game."

A shiver ran down his spine, and not for the first time he wondered if he should have taken this case.

* * *

"_He's dead, Urahara! They'll think it was me! They'll come after us—"_

"Just hold on, Isshin," the older man stated, voice level with seriousness for once, "They might not think it's you. Just calm down."

"_I was the person he talked to. He knew my name, Kisuke. They'll be coming for the rest of my family next."_

Urahara glanced at Yoruichi, whose eyes were glued to the small T.V in the corner of the shop. A fan spun lazily, making it hard to hear what it was saying, but the images on the screen were enough to tell what happened; Nnoitra was dead, and not by accident.

Urahara hung up with Isshin a few minutes later and Yoruichi turned to him.

"You think it was Byakuya?"

Urahara shook his head.

"No. It would have been much cleaner. It would have been put as a disappearance, not a murder—make it look like he got away. This was on purpose. Someone was sending a message."

* * *

_~Before His Death~_

Nnoitra growled at the silver haired man before him, who had a lazy smile on his face.

"It's your fault! I got caught because ya sent me out by myself—"

"No one told you to chase that woman, Nnoitra. But we're not mad about that."

"Yah? Then what the hell is tha' gun for?!"

Gin raised the gun and looked at it, as if he had forgotten it was there. He turned back to Nnoitra and shrugged, still smiling.

"We can't allow you to let any of our secrets slip, Nnoitra. There's no telling what you've told them already."

"I haven't told them anything—"

"I believe you," Gin said almost genuinely, except for that thin, sly smirk on his face, "But he doesn't." He raised the gun and pulled the trigger before Nnoitra could open his mouth, Gin tucked it away as his body fell to the ground. Flipping his phone open, he typed in a message and sent it before stuffing it back into his pocket and strolling away.

_God,_

_It's done._

_-Fox_

* * *

"I'm not going to stay here—"

"Yes you are."

"Let me help!"

"No."

Rukia followed her brother down the hall, glaring at his back.

"You can't keep me locked up forever!"

"Until it is safe, I will do what is necessary."

"Byakuya, I can be fine on my own."

Byakuya turned on her, making her jump to a halt.

"You do not know what they are capable of," he stated lowly, "I'm now doubting whether I should have told you about them at all."

"But they won't be after me," she stated.

"You are my family," he snapped, "Even if they do not think it was I that killed their member, they are still severely angry with me, and use any means to get back at me. That's why you are staying in headquarters under supervision until further notice."

Byuakuya walked off again, and this time Rukia simply let him.

"Or maybe you think I am," she muttered, before stalking off, beginning to formulate a plan.

* * *

"Ulquiorra…"

The green eyed teen snapped his attention to the brown haired man in front of him.

"Yes, Lord Aizen?"

"It seems Grimmjow has decided to attempt to… leave us. Would you be so kind as to persuade him to come back? The ticket for the subway train he will be on is in your room."

Ulquiorra bowed.

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

As soon as the raven-haired man was gone, Gin stepped out of the shadows, smiling after him.

"So are you really going to let Ulquiorra be trapped down there with them? He is one of the most loyal we have."

"Yes, and I have no doubt he'll survive. He's resilient. And besides, if anyone can get poor Grimmjow to come to his senses, it's Ulquiorra." Gin chuckled.

"Ironic, since they hate each other." Aizen simply smirked for a moment before waving a hand at Gin.

"Go get the others. We have a lot of work to do."

* * *

**Figured everything out yet? ;) I hope so! More to be discovered! After all, they're still trapped, many still injured... Will they figure out the connection in time? Find out next time! muwahahahahahahaaaa**


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